At about 8 a.m. Tuesday, Capitola resident Heather Gray was paddleboarding between the Capitola Wharf and Privates Beach near Pleasure Point when a sea lion attacked, biting her arm, hand and feet and pulling her underwater. Gray said the animal grabbed her hair, and described the encounter as “it was like a horror movie.”
Gray climbed back onto her board and paddled toward shore, but the sea lion followed her, according to the Sacramento Bee. A friend then drove her to an urgent care facility for treatment.
Gray's attack was not the only one reported along the Santa Cruz-area coast that day. Another incident involving a surfer near Santa Cruz was reported Tuesday.
A Toxic Algae Bloom Is Driving Erratic Behavior
The attacks come amid a documented surge in sick and disoriented sea lions across Monterey Bay this year. According to the Marine Mammal Center, sea lions and fur seals throughout the bay have been sickened by domoic acid poisoning, a condition caused by harmful algal blooms that has left affected animals acting unpredictably. The nonprofit's hotline was fielding between 300 and 600 calls a day in September as toxic blooms triggered a wave of seizing, disoriented animals across Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, according to the Monterey County Weekly. Its Castroville triage site reportedly needed up to six volunteers per rescue given the animals' size and distress.
By late August, the Marine Mammal Center had already logged more than 100 domoic acid poisoning cases along the California coast, well above its typical annual average of 70 to 90 cases, as reported by SFGATE. The toxin accumulates in small fish that sea lions eat, and center experts have explained that the animals absorb it in concentrated doses because they get all their hydration from prey fish rather than drinking seawater, leaving them with no way to flush the neurotoxin from their systems.
Neurological Effects of the Toxin
Domoic acid poisoning can cause neurological symptoms and unpredictable behavior in sea lions. The bloom's reach has extended well beyond sea lions: research from UC Santa Cruz, reported by SFGATE, found elevated domoic acid in Monterey Bay killed one juvenile humpback whale and contributed to the death of a second after both stranded within 10 miles of each other in June.
State agencies have responded with a string of public health actions. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife issued an emergency notice on September 11 restricting commercial and recreational northern anchovy fishing in Monterey Bay to bait use only, citing dangerous domoic acid levels. Days later, on September 15, the California Department of Public Health warned consumers not to eat sport-harvested bivalve shellfish or northern anchovies from Monterey County waters because of the contamination.
Federal Guidelines and Medical Risks for Bite Victims
The Marine Mammal Center has urged people to stay at least 150 feet away from animals that appear potentially ill. NOAA Fisheries recommends oceangoers keep at least 50 to 100 yards from wild sea lions.
What the Regional Reports and NOAA Guidance Show
In an earlier report, The Press Democrat said Marine Mammal Center volunteers had rescued nearly 30 animals in the area in the preceding week, averaging about six rescues per day. That provides regional context, but the reported rescue count does not establish that domoic acid caused Gray’s attack. NOAA Fisheries advises people to keep their distance from marine animals and report those that appear sick or injured. The agency notes that vulnerable animals may be more likely to bite.
Bite injuries from marine mammals also carry medical risks that go beyond a typical animal bite. The California Department of Public Health updated its clinical guidance in September, noting that marine mammal bites can cause seal finger, a severe Mycoplasma bacterial infection that causes joint swelling and cellulitis and requires targeted antibiotics like tetracycline rather than standard wound care. That guidance underscores why sea lion bite victims may need specialized follow-up treatment well after the initial injury has been addressed.
