Sea lions are often perceived as gentle and friendly sea creatures not capable of causing harm to humans. While this may be true for trained sea lions who are used to performing in shows, things can be way different for untrained sea lions in the wild.
Case in point: a wild sea lion Steveston Harbour in Richmod, British Columbia which suddenly dragged a young girl underwater. The terrifying moment was caught on video by Michael Fujiwara, a college student.
In the video that has gone viral, a massive sea lion can be spotted swimming and grabbing bread that some tourists threw in the water. The creature then hopped up from water and went really close to a little girl sitting near the dock’s edge.
Suddenly, the sea lion leaps from water and pulls the girl’s dress dragging her underwater. Fortunately, a man immediately plunged into water to rescue the girl who luckily escaped danger.
In one interview, Fujiwara recounted: “They were pretty shaken up, her family were just in shock.”
According to Andrew Trites, director of University of British Columbia Marine Mammal Research Unit, the sea lion probably mistakened the girl’s dress as food.
Trites explained: “My first reaction to the video is just how stupid some people can be to not treat wildlife with proper respect.”
“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,” he added.
In addition, Steveston Harbour Authority general manager Bob Baziuk said they have already issued a warning to guests and visitors not to feed animals for years already.
Vancouver Aquarium’s Senior Marine Mammal Trainer Danielle Hyson said feeding wild animals can trigger an aggressive behaviour on them.
“Don’t feed the wild animals! People were feeding that animal, the feeding stops, the animal then gave what we would call an aggressive precursor where he kind of jumped out of the water gave a little huff and a lunge, and then instead of people backing away, people actually got closer which set the animal up for a perfect grab and bite and pull into the water.”
Watch the video.
--Mini, The Summit Express
Case in point: a wild sea lion Steveston Harbour in Richmod, British Columbia which suddenly dragged a young girl underwater. The terrifying moment was caught on video by Michael Fujiwara, a college student.
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| PHOTO CREDIT: CBC.ca |
Suddenly, the sea lion leaps from water and pulls the girl’s dress dragging her underwater. Fortunately, a man immediately plunged into water to rescue the girl who luckily escaped danger.
In one interview, Fujiwara recounted: “They were pretty shaken up, her family were just in shock.”
According to Andrew Trites, director of University of British Columbia Marine Mammal Research Unit, the sea lion probably mistakened the girl’s dress as food.
Trites explained: “My first reaction to the video is just how stupid some people can be to not treat wildlife with proper respect.”
“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,” he added.
In addition, Steveston Harbour Authority general manager Bob Baziuk said they have already issued a warning to guests and visitors not to feed animals for years already.
Vancouver Aquarium’s Senior Marine Mammal Trainer Danielle Hyson said feeding wild animals can trigger an aggressive behaviour on them.
“Don’t feed the wild animals! People were feeding that animal, the feeding stops, the animal then gave what we would call an aggressive precursor where he kind of jumped out of the water gave a little huff and a lunge, and then instead of people backing away, people actually got closer which set the animal up for a perfect grab and bite and pull into the water.”
Watch the video.
--Mini, The Summit Express
