A dead sea lion washed up on La Jolla this week with injuries that a local sailor said were caused by a shark attack.
The animal was first seen on the morning of December 11. 18 are floating in the water near The Marine Room restaurant, according to bodysurfer and fisherman Kurt Hoffman. By noon it had washed ashore with gashes visible on its body and part of its innards protruding. He fell back into the sea the next day.
Hoffman said he believed the injuries were caused by a shark because “the bite marks are all on the underside of the animal within a full circle 18 inches in diameter.”
If the sea lion had been hit by a boat propeller, the wounds would be on top of its body, Hoffman said.
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In an email he shared with the La Jolla LightHoffman asked a marine animal expert “how long would it take for a great white shark to inflict a bite 18 inches in diameter.”
Hoffman’s post included several photos of the dead sea lion, but he didn’t give it away Light permission to publish them.
While Hoffman is certain the injuries are from a shark, marine biologist Dovi Kacev, an assistant professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego in La Jolla, isn’t so sure.
Kacev saw some of the images of the sea lion’s injuries.
Although it’s “hard to tell just looking at these pictures”, he said the injuries did not appear to be consistent with a shark bite.
“First of all, the big wound is very clean and doesn’t show any teeth marks or tears, as you might expect,” he said. Second, the general shape of the wound does not appear consistent with contact between the upper and lower jaws. That being said, it’s definitely possible that this was the result of an unexpected interaction.
Hoffman expressed disappointment that the sea lion was taken out to sea — where it could continue to bleed and attract sharks — instead of being removed by San Diego city workers.
San Diego Fire Department spokeswoman Monica Munoz said the responsibility for removing dead animals from the sand does not lie with rescuers but rather with the Department of Parks and Recreation.
She said beachgoers who find a dead animal should notify lifeguards, who will notify Parks & Recreation.
“P&R staff (with the proper equipment) get out and remove the animal, although sometimes our rescuers help,” Munoz said. “The P&R team that cleans the beaches often removes the animals before anyone sees them because they come out very early in the morning.”
In this case, the Parks and Recreation Department was not made aware of the sea lion’s existence in time to remove it, spokesman Benjamin Cartwright said.
“When the city of San Diego is notified of dead marine mammals on shore, staff alert the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, then park rangers take action to properly dispose of the carcass. “, said Cartwright. “In most cases…rescuers will often cover or tie up the carcass until staff can arrive for proper disposal.”
Hoffman has previously expressed concern about the possibility of great white sharks coming to notable locations in La Jolla. He argued that seasonal audiences closure of Point La Jolla It may attract more sea lions and therefore more adult sharks that count marine mammals in their diet.
He said he saw an increase in the number of sharks paddleboarding near Torrey Pines State Beach. A notice was posted there in August. 20 after a shark was spotted 100 yards from shore near divers. ◆
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