Seal Attack @ Stillwater South

Was at stillwater in carmel yesterday freediving and looking into holes with a flashlight when a large harbor seal took a bite out of my left side under the armpit going completely through my wetsuit an leaving some teeth marks on my side. all i knew was something grabbed me, shook me side to side and when i elbowed it i looked and saw a big round harbor seal head. at 25 feet i headed up and was chased by the same seal. it was biting at my legs so i just kept kicking to the surface. swam back to shore with my board and called it a day because of the torn suit and sore side.

i think it may have been a mama seal and i was close to a pup somewhere.

animals are great, you just never know what they are going to do.

i just repaired the suit and cant wait to go for abalone tomorrow!

i had no idea seals had such sharp teeth to go through suit and some skin.

anyhow, it was a nice day, calm seas, vis was a bit limited maybe 15 feet at best at stillwater but better outside the cove. lots of rf out and saw some small lings. didnt shoot a single fish this day.

john

 

Glad your OK.

I know Chef and Big Red were also attacked while fishing on their kayaks a while back. Chef was attacked somewhere in Monterey and Big Red was attacked in Santa Cruz. I know Big Red had tooth marks left on his kayaks bow.

Oh, and thanks again for the 2 fish stringers

That sounds serious, JGP!  We need some photos of the carnage!! 

I think the seals down there are more aggressive...  and I've probably been lucky to have never been messed with by them up here.

Where you going abbing?

That would have freaked me out!

The first time I was there I was swimming around by the rock in the middle of the cove just checking things out and one of those seals followed me all the way to my boat.  It didn't act agressively towards me but it would start to get a bit to close for my comfort so I would stand upright and point my pole spear at it.

Glad to hear you're ok and ready for duty.

Glad your ok John. Those seals are pretty vicious especially if their pups are close by.  Be very careful out there.

Fred

I hear Seal kabobs are pretty tasty up in Alaska, you should have shot that S.O.B. I would have, glad your O.K.

I hear Seal kabobs are pretty tasty up in Alaska, you should have shot that S.O.B. I would have, glad your O.K.

I'm thinking pretty hefty penalty for pulling such a stunt.  It might be warranted, but try convincing authorities of that.

BTW, glad to hear that your OK John.  Sounds like you were pretty composed, unlike how I would have responded, but then again, that's why I don't dive.

Michael

You should report it as an animal attack, then those seals will have a 'record'.

Glad you're OK John.

I've had problems around there too a number of years ago.  Just north of Monastery, I had a harbor seal grab a fish off my spear right after I shot it.  I didn't care about the fish, but it almost made off with my still attached gun.  Another time near there I had a seal grab a fish from my stringer on my belt, which scared the crap out of me.  i don't keep my stringer on my belt any more.

That's unusual that one actually bit you.  Usually they're looking for fish.  Your probably right about the pupping thing.

hi folks, thanks for the replies, i have been away diving in sonoma for abalone, went to fort ross where conditions were flat calm, clear vis to 25 feet and was able to show my inlaws how abalone live and where fish hang out. my buddy alain also joined us and we had a nice day using float boards instead of kayaks and just watching each other dive and hunt for lings and abs. alain got into some nice big blues and i got a ling and one blue. we got our abalone as well.

thank god for neoprene cement as i was able to repair my suit the night i got bit and used it in sonoma right after. now the bite area is purple and swollen a bit but should be ok. its just sore like someone pinched me hard.

funny how i had the gun in hand and flashlight but when i got bit i totally forgot i had a speargun in hand. i just headed up. i think if it was a shark i would also forget just the same: ) oh well, no animals harmed is better. i could not take a poke one of those things even if i tried, they look too cute.

here are a couple of images, the bite and the tear in the suit.

looks like a good bite, but could have been a lot harder I'm sure, based on what a dog can do when it really wants to bite.

must have been pretty unsettling to have that happen. anything like that ever happen before?

J

looks like a good bite, but could have been a lot harder I'm sure, based on what a dog can do when it really wants to bite.

must have been pretty unsettling to have that happen. anything like that ever happen before?

J

yes that bite could have been a lot worse. it was more of a big hard pinch from what it felt like and the bruise is all purple now. im getting older and bruises tend to last longer too 

i never had that happen before or even come close to it. usually the seals i see are pretty friendly and dont get too close. if they do they touch the fins and nuzle against them and sometimes i can pet their belly then the quickly leave.

the only thing i have been doing different in the last few dives is using a camo pattern bottom and a solid black omer top. maybe the seal thought i was another seal perhaps with the solid black wetsuit top and the camo pattern bottom laying on the bottom looking up into some caves?

either way im sure it was my fault and i'll just need to be more aware next time. my wife said she saw some seal pups when she was kayaking there as well. i'll just need to be more aware of the surrounding animals or else i could get nipped again!

thank god for wetsuit glue, i will always bring a jar with me wherever i go diving.

 

Dude, John, you're pretty skinny - maybe it thought you were a lingcod!   

Thanks for posting the followup pics.

Eric

Dude, John, you're pretty skinny - maybe it thought you were a lingcod!   

Thanks for posting the followup pics.

Eric

now thats a compliment! i dont hear that from my wife!

 

well, its been a week now and i finally got a letter of apology from the seal who bit me. she said that she was in a foul mood, being selfish with the area and not sharing the joy of her pup. im going to go there again this weekend if i have time. she said she'd show me some good ling holes to make up for last fridays events.

john