Seal Attack, Chatham Island, Oak Bay

[more force 4]

I've never heard of a seal attacking people before (not counting the girl pulled in at Steveston) but if these friends of mine hadn't been expert paddlers this could have ended very badly. Something to keep in mind - yeah orcas are a bit scary, but even seals can unpredictably attack.

https://goo.gl/QWRwFH
or
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wdl ... sp=sharing

[firstonlastoff]

I was wondering about the reason why the seal was so aggressive as well. Possible factors mentioned by the recipients of the aggressive seal in the article included the possibility of Orcas in the vicinity and seal pups close by. Possibly related, is kayak-based fishing in Hawaii, for which there is lots of information out there. That base of knowledge suggests that the gutting of fish by those kayakers (and maybe SUP-based fisherman as well) and leaving the guts in the primary vicinity of the fishing sites, is a primary reason for increased shark attacks in Hawaii. Note the kayaking fishing sites are not very far from swimming beaches, Maui in particular. Possible similar and related behaviour taking place here. At least in Hawaii, though climate change causing reef death and over fishing that result in food depletion for the sharks has been seriously considered, but those factors have not remained at the top of the list of possible causes for the increased frequency of shark attacks in Hawaii. Hence, this is likely related to the 'feeding' of seals mentioned on the notice-board.