Sea lion in attack on boy, 11
Source: Agencies |
September 5, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN 11-year-old boy was recovering yesterday after a sea lion mauled him at a popular Sydney zoo's aquarium show as horrified visitors looked on.
Jack Lister had been invited by zookeepers to meet the eight-year-old female sea lion during the Taronga Zoo's seal and sea lion show on Friday. After feeding the animal, the boy mistakenly followed it off the stage, which spooked it, zoo officials said.
The sea lion bit the boy and left several puncture wounds on his stomach. Lister had abdominal surgery on Friday night and was in stable condition at a hospital.
His stepmother, Dalitta Wright, said the attack was sudden.
"I can only assume he was going for the smell of the fish. Jack pulled himself away and it then lunged for his back," said Wright, whose family was visiting Sydney from the northeast city of Cairns. "It all happened so quickly. It was quite traumatic."
Zoo officials said the sea lion had never shown aggressive behavior before, and they were investigating.
The seal show was continuing but without the "encounter" portion of the program -- and without the sea lion involved in the attack.
Jack Lister had been invited by zookeepers to meet the eight-year-old female sea lion during the Taronga Zoo's seal and sea lion show on Friday. After feeding the animal, the boy mistakenly followed it off the stage, which spooked it, zoo officials said.
The sea lion bit the boy and left several puncture wounds on his stomach. Lister had abdominal surgery on Friday night and was in stable condition at a hospital.
His stepmother, Dalitta Wright, said the attack was sudden.
"I can only assume he was going for the smell of the fish. Jack pulled himself away and it then lunged for his back," said Wright, whose family was visiting Sydney from the northeast city of Cairns. "It all happened so quickly. It was quite traumatic."
Zoo officials said the sea lion had never shown aggressive behavior before, and they were investigating.
The seal show was continuing but without the "encounter" portion of the program -- and without the sea lion involved in the attack.
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