Seal Bites German Mayor's Hand The Associated Press Wednesday, April 27, 2000; 4:04 p.m. EDT FRANKFURT, Germany ญญ One of the Frankfurt zoo's 10 dwarf seals bit the hand of the city's mayor and nearly sent her tumbling Thursday, just after she had dedicated a new enclosure for the 'seadogs.' Mayor Petra Roth had been standing on a slippery rock in high-heel shoes. She was trying to feed the seals when one of them, Daisy, nipped the 56-year-old mayor's right index finger and nearly knocked her into the pool. A zoo escort grabbed Roth just in time. Roth immediately received medical treatment, which included a bandaged finger, tetanus shot and prescription for antibiotics, her office said. Zoo director Christian Schmidt defended the 'seadogs',saying they had always been well mannered in the past. Daisy's bite was not out of aggression, he said, but more a playful reflex. "She's not a mean animal, and the mayor understands that," Schmidt said. Frankfurt zoo claims to have the largest group of dwarf seals in captivity, and had to expand its facilities at a cost of $2.7 million. ---------------------------------- NOW SEE WHAT HAPPENED THE NEXT DAY ---------------------------------- German Mayor Bites Seal's Flipper The Associated Press Thursday, April 28, 2000; 2:18 p.m. EDT FRANKFURT, Germany ญญ One day after one of the Frankfurt zoo's 10 dwarf seals bit the hand of the city's mayor and nearly sent her tumbling Thursday, Mayor Petra Roth was charged with malicious intent after she returned to bite the seal back. Witnesses report that Roth scaled the seal barriers, lunged at Daisy, the 340 pound mammouth seal that nipped Roth's finger the previous day, and began gnawing on her flipper. Daisy, apparently thinking it was all a game, began batting Roth about and attempted several times to balance the Mayor on her snout like a beachball. One witness reported a group of school children stood applauding before their chaperone discovered the situation and called zoo security. It took three zoo escorts to pull Roth from the seal pit. "She just wouldn't let go and she kept shouting 'drown in hell you dog of the sea," said zoo escort Helmutfried Bruestenhaltermund. Daisy, immediately received medical treatment, which included a bandaged flipper, tetanus shot and prescription for antibiotics, and a whale blubber shiatsu treatment, said Zoo director Christian Schmidt. Mayor Roth had always been well mannered in the past, but the biting was out of aggression and not a playful reflex. Mayoral assistant Friedhelm Gugelhuber. "She's not a mean mayor, and Daisy understands that," Mayoral assistant Gugelhuber said. "But we are concerned about Mayor Roth's dedication of the Gorilla pit next week.