HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The woman bitten by a mother monk seal in Waikiki will not face fines from the state after the horrific encounter Sunday morning.
However, a federal fine from NOAA could still be a possibility. It is unclear at this time if they plan to issue the citation.
Officials with the Department of Land and Natural Resources said Monday that the woman is a 60-year-old elementary school teacher from California. She and her husband, who have been in Hawaii for three weeks, have been questioned by state officials to learn more about what happened.
Through their investigation, DLNR officials said in a news release that the woman “did nothing to provoke the incident and did not even know the seals were in the water prior to the incident.”
Instead, they said the woman was in the “wrong place at the wrong time” as she swam off Caymana Beach around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, despite signs and barriers that have been in place in the area for weeks.
WATCH: Swimmer injured after encounter with nursing monk seal mother in Waikiki
The Hawaii Marine Animal Response Team also told Hawaii News Now that the woman had been warned beforehand about the dangers of being in the area.
The couple told the DLNR that the seals were closer to the Natatorium when the woman, along with several other swimmers, jumped into the water.
Earlier in the morning, mother seal Rocky displayed agitated behavior when she briefly lost sight of her pup before eventually reuniting.
Witnesses said the woman was doing laps in the water about 150 feet from shore when the seals began swimming toward her.
The woman was reportedly unaware the seals were closing in on her and appeared to have been shocked by how close they actually were moments before the attack began.
“My wife was wearing a swimming cap and her head was in the water when both seals appeared. She couldn’t hear about 50 people on the beach yelling at the swimmers to get out of the water. She then stands up and hears people yelling and waving at her. She starts swimming away from the seals,” the woman’s husband told DLNR.
“I think she’s going to die by the time I get down to the beach. When I got there, three lifeguards, including one in a canoe, were bringing her to shore as the seals swam back to them,” her husband added.
The seals attacked the swimmer several times, biting her and leaving lacerations on her face, back and arms, the DLNR said.
Several bystanders, including a canoeist, came to the woman’s aid. They brought her to shore, where emergency crews eventually took over and treated the woman for minor injuries.
The couple said they recognized and obeyed the warning signs on their previous visits to the beach. They maintain that it was an accident in the water, and they really respect nature and animals.
“None of us could sleep last night. Every time I closed my eyes I could see the mother seal’s mouth,” the woman told the DLNR. “I’m a teacher and I care a lot about the environment and wildlife. I teach conservation to my students. I collected discarded fishing hooks and brought them ashore, and three years ago I saw a sea turtle entangled in a line and reported it.’
Her husband added: “There is no one to blame here. All my wife did was go swimming and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Hawaiian Monk Seal Conservation Ohana Executive Director Dana Jones said everyone should be more cautious around Hawaiian monk seals.
“And for someone to think they have to go swimming just because they don’t see the mother and pup on the beach is very irresponsible,” Jones said. “Rocky was protecting her puppy, she didn’t attack that woman, that woman provoked him by being in her space.”
Jones added that monk seals can move very quickly and can swim up to 35 miles per hour.
“If you look a monk seal in the face and in the eyes, it’s a challenge just like it is with a dog,” Jones explained. “You back off, you go, you go, you get out, you swim out, whatever you do, don’t swim to the cub area where Rocky was trying to get his baby.”
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