"My initial reaction was, 'I'm getting eaten in the middle of the water, it's a shark, I'm going to die,'" Phoebe Beltran told ABC News. Phoebe Beltran immediately screamed for help, which is when the animal -- she later found out was a sea lion -- let go of her arm.

Phoebe Beltran was in the homestretch of her 1,000-yard swim when she suddenly felt an intense pain as the sea lion bit her right arm.