HONOLULU, Hawaii (KNX) – A 60-year-old California woman was injured Sunday morning following an incident in Hawaii with an endangered monk seal who was protecting her baby.
It happened about 150-feet Kaimana beach around 8:30 a.m. on Oahu, officials said.
In a press release, the woman’s husband explained that a group of 10 swimmers, including the woman, were in the water prior to lifeguard being on duty. At the time people went in, no seals were seen.
It was revealed a baby seal “went out of sight” found its way into “the dilapidated former swimming pool.” When the mom seal woke up, she was “agitated” and looking for her pup.
Video taken by the woman’s husband and posted on Vimeo by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources show the seals approaching the woman before attacking her.
The woman’s husband said his wife, who was wearing a swim cap, had her head in the water and couldn’t hear people telling the swimmers to get out of the water.
“I’m thinking she’s going to die, by the time I get down to the beach. When I got there, three rescuers, including one in an outrigger canoe were bringing her to shore, while the seals were swimming toward them again,” he recalled.
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said the woman received “lacerations to her face, back, and an arm” in the attack.
State officials did however rule that the woman didn’t provoke the seal, who was identified as Rocky.
“Neither of us could sleep last night,” the woman said in the press release. “Every time I closed my eyes, I was seeing the mother seal’s mouth.”
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