In an instance of seemingly cuddly animals that attack, a girl was dragged into the water by a sea lion in British Columbia on Saturday, moments after the people around her fawned over how adorable the sea creature was.
It’s shocking how quickly the video turns from joy and wonder into horror as the sea lion bites down on the girl’s dress and pulls her into the sea. Luckily, a man instantly jumped into the water to pull her out, so don’t fret: The video below has a happy ending, thanks to a real-life hero.
So, what happened?
As the CBC writes, a college student named Michael Fujiwara was on the dock at Steveston Fisherman’s Wharf when he saw the sea lion and began filming. He also said a family had been feeding the sea lion breadcrumbs.
“My first reaction to the video is just how stupid some people can be to not treat wildlife with proper respect,” Andrew Trites, the director of the University of British Columbia’s marine mammal research unit, told the CBC. “This was a male California sea lion. They are huge animals. They are not circus performers. They’re not trained to be next to people. …
“The little girl has her back to the sea lion and it would appear that the sea lion sees part of her dress, thinks it’s food, reaches up, grabs at the food and pulls her in by the dress. But it wasn’t food of course.”
Sometimes, sea lions can be cute—when they’re hitching a ride on your paddle board, for instance. But as the little girl and now everybody who has witnessed her wildlife encounter now realize, it’s probably best just to keep your distance from sea lions, no matter how adorable it looks.
H/T Bro Bible