Hunter attacked by seal

A Quebec hunter had to be airlifted to hospital this week following what was described as a rare seal attack on a Nova Scotia island.

Alexis Boudreault, 29, and nine other hunters were on Pictou Island Tuesday when the attack occurred. Only four of them were carrying hakapiks — clubs tipped with sharp hooks — after federal fisheries officers confiscated the tools from the others earlier in the day because their hooks were judged to be too long.

Boudreault, therefore, was defenceless when the 225-kilogram male seal charged.

"I wanted to back up," he told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday. "Usually, a seal might strike, advancing to protect its territory. But this time, exceptionally, the seal charged. He didn't stop. I slipped on the ice while turning around, he grabbed my leg and threw me over him."

His fellow hunters weren't able to get to him in time to stop the attack, but were able to scare off the animal, which returned to join its fellow seals.

Boudreault said that his experience is a reminder that while they may appear adorable in photos, seals have sharp teeth, can bite and should be respected.

The other hunters had a first aid kit and were able to provide him with treatment.

Denis Eloquin, captain of the sealing ship based out of Iles-de-la-Madeleine, communicated by radio with the Canadian Coast Guard, which arrived about two hours later to bring Boudreault by helicopter to a hospital in Charlottetown.

Eloquin said the incident took place about 4:30 p.m. and Boudreault was in hospital later that evening. His injuries required 26 stitches and he was released early Wednesday.

Grey seals can move faster than humans on the ground, Eloquin said, and are particularly aggressive during mating season.

"When you deprive a hunter of his tools, these are the only things you have to defend yourself," Boudreault said. "If I'd had a hakapik, I could have defended myself, surely without even injuring the animal — just a little blow on the tip of the nose and it would have retreated."