A shocking video captured the moment a sea lion dragging a little girl off the docks and into the waters in Vancouver, Canada. The marine animal made a mistake and likely thought the girl’s white dress was a piece of fish, says Marine mammal experts.
I captured a scary moment of a seal dragging a young girl into the water at the #Richmond Steveston Wharf #Vancouver https://t.co/58mzL0v1mM
— Michael Fujiwara (@MichaelFujiwara) May 21, 2017
According to an eyewitness report by CBC News, the child and her family were feeding bread crumbs to the seal. However, the little girl was especially close since she sat at the edge of the dock, says a witness.
And it initially jumped up to the girl to read her I guess. And then it came back up a second time, but this time grabbing the girl by the waist and dragging her down into the water.
Watch the full clip below:
The man, seen in the footage, who took quick action and leaped into the water saving the girl was reported to be safe along with the victim. Witnesses were unsure if the rescuer was a relative of the girl or not, but those who were with her immediately left after getting her back onto the dock.
Andrew Trites, a Marine Mammal Expert from the University of British Columbia’s Research Unit, in his interview with CBC News said the seal is not at fault.
My first reaction to the video is just how stupid some people can be not to treat wildlife with proper respect
This was a male California sea lion. They’re huge animals. They are not circus performers. They’re not trained to be next to people.
CBC also points out that according to Canada’s Marine Mammal Regulations,
No person shall disturb a marine mammal except when fishing.
Trites hopes this video will educate people to not feed marine wildlife.
You keep your distance. Watch the animals, but let wildlife be wildlife.
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