60-Year-Old Swimmer Attacked and Injured by a Seal in Hawaii: 'This Poor Woman Was Terrified'

A woman was injured while swimming in Hawaii when a mother monk seal attacked her while defending its pup.

According toHawaii News Now, a witness said the seal appeared to briefly lose her pup before encountering the woman near the shore of Kaimana Beach on Sunday morning.

“So I guess that’s mother’s instinct to protect her pup,” witness Curt Otsuka told the outlet. “Everybody was yelling careful, careful getaway.”

Another added: “You hear her screams. This poor woman was terrified.”

Her husband told theHawaii Department of Land and Natural Resourcesthat his wife, a 60-year-old California elementary school teacher, could not hear the warning calls from people on the beach while underwater.

“My wife had a swim cap on, and her head was in the water when both seals appeared,” he said. “She could not hear 50 or so people on the beach screaming for swimmers to get out of the water. She then stands up and hears the people screaming and waving at her.”

The victim told the organization that the attack left her shaken for the rest of the day.

“Neither of us could sleep last night,” she told DLNR. “Every time I closed my eyes, I was seeing the mother seal’s mouth.”

“I’m a teacher and I care a lot about the environment and wildlife,” she continued. “I teach conservation to my students. I’ve collected discarded fishing hooks and brought them to shore and three years ago I saw a sea turtle entangled in fishing line and reported it.”

DLNR’s investigation concluded that the woman did nothing to provoke the incident.

source: people.com