SAN DIEGO -- A playful 2,500-pound walrus knocked a Sea World worker into a feeding pool Tuesday, toying with her for several minutes before other workers pulled her from the water, a park spokesman said.
Lisa Gouse, 28, an animal care specialist, was taken to Mercy Hospital with cuts and bruises after her encounter with Illiyak, described by spokesman Dan LeBlanc as 'a very social and gregarious animal.'
Gouse was taking routine water quality samples from an outdoor pool Illiyak shares with two female walruses when he 'swam up to her and bumped her into the water with a flipper,' said LeBlanc.
As Gouse struggled to get out, the walrus 'held her against his chest with two flippers and pulled her back into the water several times,' said LeBlanc.
Other workers extended a long-handled hook to Gouse and hoisted her over a 6-foot-high exhibit wall to safety, he said.
Gouse, who was taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital for observation, 'never lost consciousness but she was very shaken up and had bumps and cuts on her shins,' LeBlanc said.
Holy cow!
