Sea lions may not look very threatening, but they have the potential to cause quite a bit of trouble.
Image Credit: Kdsphotos/Pixabay
One family touring British Columbia learned this first-hand as they were reportedly feeding and observing what appeared to be a harmless wild sea lion that had visited a dock at the Steveston Fisherman's Wharf over the weekend.
The sea lion visit is said to be a regular occurrence here, as the dock is on the animals’ typical migratory route. Just like truckers will stop at truck stops to grab food on a long road trip, sea lions will sometimes stop at the dock hoping for free food from tourists.
The family was reportedly holding food over the edge of the dock in their hands to get the sea lion’s attention, and the sea lion was immediately attracted to them. Once the family got its attention, it jumping from the water surface repeatedly and lunging at the food to grab it.
Apparently, the family’s young daughter was sitting at the edge of the dock, when all of a sudden, the sea lion jump up high enough to snatch the little girl by her clothes, which resulted in her being dragged underwater.
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The entire incident was captured on smartphone video from bystander Michael Fujiwara, who was simply recording the sea lion during the feeding because it looked cute; he had no idea that the sea lion was going to act the way it did.
An unnamed man quickly jumped in after her and was successful in rescuing her. Fortunately, nobody was injured after the incident and everyone was able to get up and walk away after having learned a valuable life lesson about nature.
Management has expressed how they are happy no one was hurt during the incident, but has expressed another a stern warning against feeding the wildlife. They’ve reportedly been giving warnings not to feed the wild animals for years, but people continue to do so anyways.
Source: CNN