Surfers don’t normally worry about seals. In fact, most of the time they’re a real pleasure to share the lineup with–cute little sea dogs, really. But a few days ago in Sydney, Australia, two surfers had a little bit of a different experience when an angry fur seal attacked.
Nathan Shepherd took the brunt of it, sustaining a bite on his arm so deep he’ll require surgery. “I thought it was amazing to be out with a seal,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “It was swimming closer to me. It swam quite fast – it jumped out of the water and bit me on the upper arm. I tried to bring the surfboard down on top of it, and then to put the surfboard between me and the seal, and then I got back on the board and paddled to shore.”
Afterwards, the seal went on a bit of a rampage, seemingly targeting soft tops. It went on to Manly Beach, where Peter Fitzardinge was surfing. “I got into the water and started paddling to shore but it was grabbing on the back of the board,” he explained. “I could feel this dead weight. It followed me towards the shore. I got out and then it beached itself.”
Once the seal was on the sand, a lifeguard named Victoria O’Halloran made sure no one approached the angry animal. “It was incredibly aggressive. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.
