Swimmers in San Francisco Bay Encounter Aggressive Sea Lion, Raising Concerns About Marine Mammal Health
A group of open-water swimmers in San Francisco Bay experienced a terrifying encounter with an aggressive sea lion near Albany Bulb over Labor Day weekend. Teri Hudson, a member of the 'Blue Boobies' swim group, described the interaction as an 'attack,' though no one was bitten. The sea lion, which swimmers had observed appearing lethargic on the beach prior to the incident, pursued and circled the swimmers, prompting them to use their buoys for defense and quickly return to shore. This event follows several sightings of dead or ill sea lions in the area around Labor Day, including a fur seal that died on the beach. Swimmers suspect the animals may be suffering from domoic acid toxicity, a neurological poisoning affecting California sea lions, which has seen a spike in cases along the California coastline. The Marine Mammal Center has reported an unusually high number of sea lion rescues due to domoic acid poisoning, with over 150 rescued since the beginning of the year, and more than 110 of those since Ju...
