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The rowing crew inspects damage inflicted by a sea lion - Source: ONE News -
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An Otago University rowing eight will be back on the water tomorrow morning hoping to avoid another close encounter with nature.
Their last training session ended in chaos when their skiff was rammed and holed by an angry sea lion.
The animal came up from underneath the University of Otago boat yesterday morning, breaking through the hull of the $40,000 vessel in two places and causing panic amongst the crew, the Otago Daily Times reported.
With the boat filling up with water, the crew quickly headed for the closest boat ramp.
But they were followed by the sea lion, which gave them a bit of a "snarl" after they pulled the damaged boat from the water.
Encounters with sea lions are not uncommon on the Otago coast.
University rowing coach Sonya Walker said sea lions were often seen in the harbour but rowers normally managed to avoid them.
Department of Conservation Coastal Otago programme manager David Agnew, who is a keen surfer, said sea lions would often come and check him out in the water.
"You'll feel the whiskers brush past your hands and feet and your heart'll be racing but you'll be staying calm and usually they'll race off and find someone more interesting."
But one of the rowers on the skiff, Matt Smaill, said their experience with the sea lion was very different.
"It's strange for him not to have got out of our way. It's like he didn't like us being there or something like that. I don't know."
The Department of Conservation told ONE News it had never heard of a sea lion damaging a boat before.
Their advice when encountering sea lions is to not engage the animal and to not splash and make a fuss.
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