New Zealand man who speared an endangered sea lion says he did it to protect his partner, adding: "It needed a stab. It will live."
Matt Kraemer posted on Facebook that he and his partner were diving for paua -- a type of abalone -- on Friday when they encountered a "particularly aggressive" sea lion with "lion-sized jaws."
"It actually climbed out of the water and threatened to attack on the beach," Kraemer, who lives in the South Island city of Dunedin, said in the Facebook post. "I had to stab it with a spear to defend my terrified dive buddy!
"This was no ordinary playful sea lion. I poked it lots of times with no effect, it needed a stab. It will live."
Kraemer's partner, Jo Kraemer, told CNN that the sea lion was over 2 meters (6.6 foot) long, and continued to charge at them aggressively as they tried to swim away.
"I am aware that it is an endangered animal and we were in its habitat, and that free diving in the ocean is dangerous. We did not intend to hurt it, we just needed it to leave us alone so we could exit the water safely," she said...
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2 comments:
Can't speak to the particulars of the new Zealand sea lions. Steller sea lions in Alaska, especially the male bachelor bulls, exhibit a similar behavior if you venture into their habitat, especially on scuba. Typical behavior includes charging, mouthing (nibbling on the neoprene hood or other appendage), tugging at fins, etc. Some of the play gets rather aggressive and the thought of a 1200 pounds animal doing so (especially when they gang up) may be a bit unsettling to some. I have had several encounters, but never felt one "needed a stab". But then I never really crawled out of the water into their haulouts.
Many thanks for your interesting comment.
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