Sea lion attacked by great white shark is denied help

A California Sea Lion lies on an Oregon beach, badly injured from a shark attack at sea.
The big animal was spotted Saturday night, lying wounded and bleeding heavily. Marine biologists went back to the scene Sunday and, after examining the wound, decided it was probably attacked by a Great White Shark somewhere off the Clatsop County coastline.

The sea lion then dragged itself onto shore, where it remained Sunday, unable to do much more than lie on the beach and try to recover. Keith Chandler of the Oregon Marine Mammal Standing Network says it has a badly gashed and injured flipper. A chunk of that flipper is gone, cut off by the shark's gnashing teeth. And, although the injury is not immediately life-threatening, it could hamper the marine mammal's ability to hunt for food. But that's only if it survives the blood loss and doesn't get a serious infection during its slow recovery on an Oregon beach.

Wildlife officers are asking that anyone who comes across the injured animal - or any other sea lion, healthy or otherwise - to leave it alone.