Sea lion drags girl into waters, but saved in time
Video shows the terrifying moment a sea lion yanks a girl into the water
The first part of a now-viral video shows a sea lion swimming near a dock in Steveston, a seaside community on Canada’s western coast. The sound of cameras clicking can be heard in the background as onlookers marvelled at its size.
The animal swims closer to the dock after grabbing a piece of food that someone threw.
It then rises from the water toward a little girl kneeling near the dock, then goes back in. The girl and others laugh.
She sits on the dock. After just one second, the sea lion jumps back, swiftly grabbing the girl by her white dress and dragging her into the water. Onlookers can be heard screaming in horror. A man immediately gets into the water to save the girl.
Neither the girl nor the man was injured. She can be seen immediately leaving after the incident at Steveston Fisherman’s Wharf near Vancouver, B.C.
The video, taken by Michael Fujiwara, was posted on YouTube on Saturday and has garnered 1.5 million page views as of Sunday afternoon.
“They were pretty shaken up,” Fujiwara told CBC News. “Her family was just in shock.”
Fujiwara said he goes to the dock regularly but has never seen anything like what he captured in the video. It’s unclear whether Fujiwara and the man who jumped into the water know the girl. Fujiwara did not respond Sunday to a request for comment.
Andrew Tites, director of the University of British Columbia’s Marine Mammal Research Unit, criticised those who got close to the animal, which he said is a California sea lion.
“My first reaction to the video is just how stupid some people can be to not treat wildlife with proper respect,” he told CBC News, adding later: “They are not circus performers. They’re not trained to be next to people.”