'It jumped out and bit me': Menacing seal bites surfer
A man has needed surgery after been bitten by a fur seal in “a freak occurrence" with three other surfers knocked off their boards at a Sydney beach.
At first, Nathan Shepherd was surprised the fur seal was swimming so close off Shelly Beach in Manly, on Sunday afternoon, and "didn’t think anything of it".
That was until moments later, when the 45-year-old father said the creature turned aggressive and launched at him.
“I thought it was amazing to be out with a seal. It was swimming closer to me.
"It swam quite fast – it jumped out of the water and bit me on the upper arm," he told the Daily Telegraph.
“I tried to bring the surfboard down on top of it, and then to put the surfboard between me and the seal, and then I got back on the board and paddled to shore.”
Mr Shepherd, who called the attack “a freak occurrence,” said the puncture wound to his right arm looked like a deep tooth mark. He has since undergone surgery.
A good Samaritan, who witnessed the attack, took the surfer to Manly Hospital for treatment.
Mr Shepherd hopes to track him down to thank him and pay him for cleaning his vehicle, as he was bleeding during the ride.
The seal reportedly targetted three other surfers, knocking one into the water and biting their boards, leaving teeth marks.
NSW to rush shark nets after Byron attack
Shark attack near Byron Bay
The news of the seal attack came after a man escaped with cuts to his leg Monday morning when a great white shark crashed into his board while surfing near popular tourist spot Byron Bay, in northern NSW.
Jade Fitzpatrick, 36, escaped with three puncture wounds to his upper thigh when his surfboard bore the brunt of the attack off a beach between Suffolk Park and Broken Head.
The attack is the third in a month, and the 13th since February last year, prompting Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair to announce he would introduce legislation in a bid to have the nets installed before the summer school holidays despite fears they could capture and kill other marine life.
However, even after dancing with death, Mr Fitzpatrick told Sunrise he was against the plan.
"We take the risk (of going into the ocean) ... I'm just doing what I love and he's just being a shark. I don't blame him, or her.
"I don't want animals dying just to make us feel safe," the shark attack survivor said.
"It's going to kill dolphins and whales, and baby hammerhead sharks, and lots of marine life that we rely on for tourism and a healthy ecosystem.
"And it's going to keep us a bit secure at the cost of the lives, or maybe it's going to give us a false sense of security."
