Dramatic Video Shows Child Being Pulled Into Water By Sea Lion

In an instant, little girl is seen being pulled into the water by sea lion

One little girl’s family is saying an extra “thank you” tonight for the quick actions of a man who jumped into the water to save their child. The reason he had to jump to her rescue was a complete shock to all those that witnessed the terrifying incident.

The beginning of this now-viral video shows a sea lion leisurely swimming near a dock in Steveston, a seaside community near Vancouver, British Columbia. People were taking pictures and someone can be seen throwing food into the water.

But as the majestic animal swims closer to the dock, the unthinkable happens — the sea lion approaches a little girl sitting on the dock and in the blink of an eye, pulls her into the water (around 1:40 into the video).

“They were pretty shaken up,” Michael Fujiwara, the University student who captured the incident on video, told CBC News. “Her family was just in shock.”

In Fujiwara’s video, the sea lion initially surfaces near the girl while bystanders can be heard laughing. Then she decides to sit down on the pier’s edge and that’s when things go horribly wrong. In an instant, the sea lion jumps up out of the water and grabs onto her dress, pulling her into the water before anyone can stop it.

According to Fujiwara, people were feeding the sea lion breadcrumbs before the event took place. It can seem irresistible to feed and want to be near wild animals in their own habitat, especially when they are as adorable as this sea lion.

But, just don’t.

According to the Humane Society, there are very practical reasons why we should not feed wild animals — all designed to protect animals and the humans trying to “help” them. For one, “people” food isn’t good for animals. Feeding them can also make wild animals lose their natural fear of people. They should fear us and we should absolutely fear (and respect) them. Wild animals that depend on people for food can cause unnecessary injury to other animals and themselves. When wild animals group together to compete for handouts, it can cause competition which can result in fighting and injury.

According to National Geographic, an adult sea lion is about the same size as a 6-foot man and weighs anywhere from 610 to 860 pounds. These are wild animals and we need to treat them as such.

Lucky for this little girl, a man who Fujiwara says may be a relative according to NBC 2, immediately jumps into the water to save her. She and the man are unharmed and appear to have no injuries. We are so thankful this little girl is ok.

And before anyone comments that this “never would have happened if her parents were watching her,” there were people standing all around this little girl. The sea lion jumped up and grabbed her in an instant. Even if someone were holding onto her with both hands, the outcome would have been the same.

If you really want to help wildlife, consider donating to somewhere like the Wildlife Conservation Society. The animals thank you.