A seal attacked divers this past weekend in the waters off Oudekraal.
A group of eight scuba divers were attacked by a seal as they entered the waters off Oudekraal on Saturday, March 2.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said the injured divers were treated at Ocean Power Boat Club (OPBC).
“On the casualty boat’s arrival at OPBC two patients were treated by paramedics for bite puncture wounds - a Portuguese lady and a South African lady. The Portuguese lady was transported to hospital in a stable condition by Netcare 911 ambulance.
“The South African lady was assessed by paramedics and not requiring hospitalisation, she was advised to attend an emergency room or a doctor for broad spectrum antibiotics, rabies and tetanus treatment, as a precaution.
“A Brazilian man, a French lady, a French man and a South African man, who had sustained minor scrape bite wounds, were assessed by paramedics and not requiring hospitalisation they were was advised to attend at an emergency room or at a doctor for broad spectrum antibiotics, rabies and tetanus treatment, as a precaution.”
NSRI, in cooperation with the City of Cape Town, are appealing to bathers and divers, in the Oudekraal area and along the Atlantic seaboard to be cautious. The cause of the seal's behaviour is unknown.
In January last year a pup seal attacked beachgoers at Clifton beach (“Toxins suspected as cause of seal attack”, January 12, 2023).
According to NSRI CEO Dr Cleeve Robertson, damaging algal blooms produce domoic acid, which contaminates the fish that seals eat and this could cause neurological problems in seals.
“At the moment there is ongoing research. They (researchers) are not really sure what is causing it but they do think domoic acid may be playing a role and linking these things together is difficult. You have to catch the seal that bit the person, you have euthanise the animal, do a post mortem on the animal as soon as possible or else the domoic acid decays and you can’t measure the levels properly and then you have to make the linkage between the domoic acid and the neurological issues in the seal, so it’s a complex issue,” said Dr Robertson.
He adds that in his 50 years as a scuba diver he had never experienced a seal being aggressive but that it is becoming frequent.
“There was a lady at Fish Hoek that was bitten by a seal, and then we have heard of attacks at Seal Island and at Clifton. It’s becoming distressing for recreational divers and people kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, so this is also not good for tourism,” he said.