Boy Attacked by Sea Lion During Zoo Aquarium Show

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2010-09-08 12:00:00 UTC
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Earlier this year, when a trainer at SeaWorld was killed by an orca, it was tragic, but in many ways, unsurprising. Whales are huge mammals kept captive in small tanks; this particular whale had a history of fatal encounters; and SeaWorld trainers have a certain level of assumed risk with their jobs. But what about the risk to the spectators of these water circuses?

At the Taronga Zoo aquarium in Sydney, Australia, an 11-year-old boy was injured by a sea lion. As part of the "animal encounter" portion of the show, Jack Lister was invited on stage to feed the female sea lion. As they were walking off stage, the sea lion turned around and bit him, leaving, as his father put it "a dirty great hold in his stomach." The boy went into abdominal surgery that evening and was reported to be in stable condition.

No doubt this is an encounter he won't forget. But why did it happen?

Zoo spokeswoman Danielle McGill's explanation: "The boy unfortunately walked behind [the sea lion] and she got a fright ... she had a flight or fight response and bit the boy." Was it just bad choreography — that Jack wasn't supposed to follow the sea lion off-stage or the trainer should have been watching more closely?

Or maybe it's that all the concerns over dolphin and whale shows — intelligent animals being kept in unnatural, under-stimulating environments to entertain humans — also apply here, and this was an accident waiting to happen.

I suppose the Taronga Zoo would claim the sea lion encounter is part of the educational experience, as their website says, "to raise awareness and knowledge of animals and their habitats." What did the audience learn that day about sea lions? Did they learn that their habitat isn't a swimming pool or that they're intelligent animals who are very social and playful, usually living in large groups with their own species? Or did they learn that people can make the animals do tricks?

After witnessing the attack, Jack's stepmother said: "I can only assume [the sea lion] was going for the smell of the fish." So much for having a sense of the animal's intelligence from the show.

The zoo says this sea lion had never displayed "aggressive behavior" before. The show was due to continue the next day, without that particular sea lion and without the "encounter" portion. It would be nice to see these shows discontinued altogether. It's once again clear that they serve no educational purpose, unless perhaps they start talking about how selfish and misleading it is to keep animals in captivity.

Photo credit: Paul Holloway

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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