Long Beach, California - 15-year-old Phoebe Beltran was trying to get into the junior lifeguard program when she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her arm while swimming and realized that she had been bitten by an !

It is not possible to say exactly why the sea lion attacked (stock image). © Benjamin Fanjoy / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The test included swimming a distance of over 1,000 feet, as reported by .

The teenager had almost completed the task and was only about 25 feet from the shore when she suddenly felt a bite on her arm.

"At first, I just assumed the worst, like a shark," the teen said.

"I'm getting attacked, it has to be a shark. And then I'm like, 'Please, don't bite my arm off. Please don't kill me. Please don't let me regret trying out.'"

Frightened, she didn't dare look to see what had bitten her.

Finally, she dove underwater to look for her attacker – but all she saw was a shadow.

When she resurfaced, she began to scream, whereupon the aggressive animal finally let go.

Her mother, who was standing on the beach, realized that it was not a shark, but a sea lion.

Phoebe managed to escape to the shore, where paramedics immediately rushed to her aid and took her to the emergency room. Fortunately, apart from some swelling and scratches, she was fine.

Sea lions become more aggressive due to algae poisoning
On the coast of California there are often problems due to the proliferation of algae. © JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

"I've been stung by a sting ray, pinched by crabs, bitten by tiny fish," Phoebe explained. "But a sea lion?"

Nevertheless, she is determined to plunge into the water again and pass the test.

"In my 25 years of service, I've never heard of something like this happen before," said Gonzalo Medina from the Long Beach Fire Department.

Sea lion attacks are rare in themselves, but such incidents do occur from time to time on the California coast.

According to , one of the main reasons for this is poisoning, which affects many sea lions.

The algae species "Pseudo-nitzschia" has spread massively in the water recently. This algae produces toxins that are ingested by fish.

Sea lions, in turn, eat the poisoned fish and fall ill themselves. The sick animals often display more aggressive behavior than their healthy counterparts.