California teen attacked by sea lion in ‘very rare’ incident

A 13-year-old California girl was injured when a sea lion attacked her in what officials say was a “very rare” incident.

Megan Pagnini said she was near the shore at Pismo Beach on Friday night when the sea lion came charging at her, news station KSBY reported.

“I was just kinda jumping around, dancing, just having fun,” Megan told the news station. “And they were taking funny pictures of me. And we were just all laughing. And then, yeah, the sea lion attacked me.”

The Paso Robles teen said she never saw the sea lion pop out of the water — but a pal taking photos captured the unprovoked attack.

“I felt it on my leg and I looked down and freaked out,” she said. “I didn’t know what it was. All I knew is something was attacking me.”

Officials said the sea lion bit the teen’s thigh and she was brought to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

“It’s a pretty nasty injury,” California Fish and Wildlife Patrol Capt. Todd Tognazzini told the Sacramento Bee. “She looks like she’s healing quickly.”

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Tognazzini said the sea lion was “behaving unusually” when it came up on the beach.

“We believe that was why the sea lion in this incident not only bit the person, but then came on land and bit some metal lifeguard stands,” Tognazzini told KSBY.

Shawn Johnson, vice president of veterinary medicine and science at The Marine Mammal Center, told the Bee that the incident was “very rare.”

He believes the sea lion showed signs of domoic acid poisoning, which occurs when they ingest mollusks or fish that have eaten toxic algae, according to the Bee.

“She’s exhibiting the typical clinical signs of the disease,” Johnson said, adding that the sea lion is undergoing treatment from the Marine Mammal Center.