Girl, 9, attacked and 'dragged under water' by sea lion while learning to surf

A nine-year-old girl learning tosurfwas attacked and dragged under the water by a sea lion.

Corale Olsen told how she was in “pain” and was “screaming” when the angry sea lion bit her while she was in the sea off Asilomar State Beach, Monterey County, in California. She was attending a surf camp with her brother and sister when the sea lion acted aggressively which is very unusual and may have been because it was being territorial.

"We were pretty deep in the ocean," Corale said. "So then, the sea lion went under my instructor's leg and then it came up to me and bit me, and then I got dragged underwater."

She toldABC7 News: "It was pain and I was screaming and then my instructor said, 'What happened?' Then I said, ‘I got bit and it hurts so bad’.” It comes after beachgoers were left stunned after a rare sea creature was spotted off British coast.

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At this point her instructor Alex De Marignac acted quickly and grabbed Corale along with her siblings before taking them to the beach where the youngster had treatment. “I had two kids under each arm and one hanging off my neck, and yeah, we all made it,” Mr De Marignac said.

Corale, who was pictured holding crutches, went to an emergency treatment room at the beach where she was found to have suffered bruising to a leg and puncture wounds from the bites by the sea lion.

Her sister Skye told how worried she had been and tried to comfort Corale in the treatment room. “I was very worried, honestly. I was in the room, and I was worried. So, I was telling her to calm down,” Skye told KSBW.

And the instructor, Mr De Marignac, said this was the first time in his life he saw a sea lion attack like that. "I have surfed in these waters since I was about six-years-old. Never, ever seen something like that," he said.

He believes the sea lion may have acted that way because it was territorial. "I think the rule of thumb is make sure to give animals their space. I think it’s totally fine to be curious, but I’d say never get a better look by getting closer to the animal," he added. Sea lions are similar to seals but have slight differences such as being bigger and they have ear flaps.

It hasn't put Corale off from going back into the sea as she said: "If something happens, that doesn't mean that you can't stop doing what you love."