Anyone who thinks a sea lion’s bark is worse than its bite should have a chat with Jack Lister, 11, of Cairns who spent last weekend in a Sydney hospital following an “encounter” on Friday with one of these blubbery giants at Taronga Zoo, which, according to his dad, left him with a “dirty great hole in his belly.”
For those who haven’t been following the story, apparently Jack made the innocent mistake of following the sea lion as it was being led off stage at the conclusion of a show. The seal turned on him, lunged at his stomach, and then tried to bite him on the back. Zoo spokesperson, Danielle McGill, explained, “The boy unfortunately walked behind her and she got a fright and ... she had a flight or fight response and bit the boy.”
Keepers said the sea lion had a long history of taking part in animal encounters and had never before displayed aggressive behaviour. Which makes me think Jack may have erred in another way? Two possible explanations:
1. The handshake. Had Jack offered Salty a ‘Latham’ would things have turned out differently? After all, it stands to reason. You hand a sea lion a wet fish, what’s he gonna do with it?
2. Did Jack make the mistake of calling Salty the noble sea lion a “seal”? Because such an insult is guaranteed to raise the whiskers and rouse the ire of a sea lion - a slur only slightly less offensive than calling a white pointer a gummy shark, or a rugby league warrior an AFL player.
So, how do you tell seals and sea lions apart? Well, besides the glaringly obvious (the sea lion is the one with small boy wedged between its jaws), there are other notable differences.
Unlike a seal, a sea lion has external ears, therefore is more likely to detect slights such as that outlined at 2 above. And a sea lion has posterior and anterior flippers that rotate forward and backwards which makes it quite agile compared to the humble seal, which, when on land, is a virtual Phil Dunphy of the ‘pinnipedian’ fin-footed (modern) family.
SEA LION – larger than life tough guy:
SEAL – lard-arse cousin:
Fortunately, Jack Lister is expected to make a full recovery. Otherwise I wouldn’t be making light of his situation. In fact, the young fella is much gutsier than I and according to an article in the Cairns Post on Monday is keen to return to the zoo when he’s feeling better.
Finally, if there’s anyone out there contemplating their own close encounter with a 600 - 2000 pound animal with whiskers and anchovy breath, please let me know and I’ll put you in touch with my mother-in-law. Although known to be aggressive, you can take comfort knowing she’s got false teeth. So although likely to give you a mouthful - there’s no way she can take one.
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