Woman attacked by sea lion at San Francisco's Aquatic Park

ByMelanie Woodrow KGO logo
Friday, January 12, 2018
Woman attacked by sea lion at San Francisco's Aquatic Park
A woman is recovering from non-life threatening injuries after she was attacked by a sea lion at Aquatic Park in San Francisco this morning.

SAN FRANCISCO -- There was another sea lion attack at Aquatic Park Thursday morning. The South End Rowing Club says this isn't the first time one of their members was bitten. A sea lion bit South End Rowing Club swimmer Irene Chan on her knee around 7 a.m.

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Another swimmer in the club named Alice Ma says she heard Chan scream for help.

"I started swimming with her and I said do you want me to pull you back to the beach and she said, 'no, no, I can swim by myself I just can't kick because the sea lion bit me on my knee,'" said Ma.

"And then Alice called Kathy and I and we all just gathered around her and swam back with her," said another swimmer Jeany Duncan.

Duncan relied on her expertise to help Chan until an ambulance arrived.

"I was a paramedic with the San Francisco Fire Department and the Department of Public Health," said Duncan.

The women moved Chan to the sauna and applied pressure to her wound.

"She was just more shook up than anything as anybody would be," said Duncan.

VIDEO: Second sea lion attack at San Francisco's Aquatic Park

Officials say a man suffered non-life threatening injuries after being bitten by a sea lion at Aquatic Park in San Francisco Friday, a day after another man was bitten while swimming in the area.

Chan was taken to SF General where as of this morning she was in "good condition" according to a hospital spokesperson.

"Was not severe but anytime you get bit it's a bad thing," said Lynn Cullivan, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Spokesperson.

"We were just starting to calm down a little from the last couple of bites," said Duncan.

There have been several sea lion bites reported recently, including other South End Rowing Club Swimmers.

"I hope these stop," said Ma.

Still, swimmers say that didn't stop them from getting back in the water today, though they are swimming closer to shore.