Little girl rescued after sea lion drags her off wharf and under water

[Tanuki]

in British Columbia

https://m.

[luvMIdog]

1. OMG Thank goodness her dad had a fast reaction! Whew!

[LisaL]

4. I think whoever rescued the girl wasn't a relative.

The person with the girl took the girl away quickly, not waiting for the rescuer. One would think that if the rescuer was the girl's relative, they would have waited for him.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. I'm glad she's OK and kudos to her rescuer. The outcome could have been tragic.

People need to be aware that these are wild animals and use caution in their encounters and keep themselves and their children out of harm's way.

[tblue37]

34. Sea lions are incredibly cool, but they are also Alex predators, even if they look like cute

oversized Beanie Babies.

When she sat on the edge, the sea lion probably assumed she was a prey animal. Her size and white dress made her look just right to the sea lion.

[smirkymonkey]

3. OMG! The poor girl must have been terrified!

I'm glad her father was so quick to react and save her.

[Nay]

5. Lesson for the day: when ANY animal acts aggressively toward you or your kids,

get the hell out of the way!

[malaise]

7. Yep

Animals in the wild are not your pets

[Tanuki]

10. Yes, I was surprised that after the animal lunged at her the first time,

her parent didn't make her stand farther back, much less sit on the rail with her back to the water. I'm glad it turned out ok, thanks to the brave and swift rescuer.

[canetoad]

35. The saying

"Never turn your back on the sea" is just as applicable on a wharf it seems.

The turn up on our beach here, we give them a very wide berth.

[SMC22307]

31. Exactly. And the guy with the outstretched hand...

as if it were a Golden Retriever to be petted... The girl should have been pulled back the first time it lunged, not allowed to lean over face-first then sit on the ledge!

[shenmue]

6. Ouch

[uppityperson]

8. In glad the girl is ok. Idiot adults drinking Starbucks and pretending wild animals are pets or

for their amusement.

I'm very glad he got that girl out so fast, but adults piss me off. Those are wild animals, give them the respect they deserve.

[democratisphere]

9. What a bunch of BS. The sea lion hardly attempted to kill the girl.

[Nay]

11. Obviously, we have no idea what was in the sea lion's mind, but this aggressiveness is

a bit unusual for a sea lion. I suspect that idiots have been feeding the lions around this pier, and the lion may have thought he was getting food. Whatever. In any case, it's not BS to be careful around any wild animal, and as for one (like this sea lion) who demonstrates aggressiveness, you must keep yourself and your kids out of range.

[democratisphere]

14. The sea lion seemed fairly passive to me.

The sea lion appeared to mistakenly think the little girls skirt was food and grabbed it. I think the sea lion was probably surprised at what followed the skirt into the water.

[Nay]

38. Of course the lion thought the skirt was food!! This was my point! Animals will

aggressively go after food or to protect itself, so when it lunges towards you or your child, you need to get out of its range.
Maybe it's just because I'm more attuned to animal behavior, but really, if people can't assess animal behavior well enough to see that that lion was grabby, they should stay farther away at all times.

[democratisphere]

39. The sea lion had no intention of harming or devouring the child.

The sea lion can be seen in the background, hanging around, looking for his next treat after the child was pulled from the water. The sea lion was not a killer of any human.

[Tanuki]

21. I think the sea lion sized it up as an easy meal, much like this:

https://m.

[PJMcK]

12. The adults' behavior is outrageous!

These foolish people have absolutely no idea about wildlife! Early in the video, they entice the sea lion by throwing food into the water. Then they continue to lure the animal towards the boat by pretending to have more food. At this point, these people are stupid because they've already observed that the sea lion is quite large yet they continue to toy with it.

Now we reach their true idiocy. The sea lion lunges- tentatively- at the little girl. Rather than pulling her away from the edge of the dock, the adults giggle about the animal's behavior. THEN THEY LET THE GIRL SIT ON THE EDGE! Are they stupid, negligent, abusive or something else?

It isn't the least bit surprising to anyone who has worked with or studied wildlife to see what happened next. Thankfully, the little girl was quickly rescued.

Although this happened in Canada, I wonder if her parents are Trump supporters. They are as stupid and idiotic as he is.

[snooper2]

19. LOL- Well you got Trump in a sea lion thread

LOL

[PJMcK]

28. Yeah, but it was probably a mistake to be snarky

Please see my response to yuiyoshida below.

[yuiyoshida]

23. "I wonder if her parents are Trump supporters"

Um no, they are Chinese, the last thing they would ever do is vote for Trump. Most Chinese are smart enough to know, that TRUMP holds nothing for them.

[PJMcK]

25. Respectfully, I don't know that they are Chinese

How did you make that determination, yuiyoshida? In the video, I only hear English spoken with North American accents. I could certainly be wrong and if so, I apologize.

Regardless, I did make a cheap shot at Trump supporters. Sometimes, it seems too easy. Nonetheless, I'm not very impressed with the parenting skills displayed by the little girl's caretakers.

[yuiyoshida]

26. They were Chinese

You don't think I didn't see and know that?? They are speaking Cantonese!

[PJMcK]

27. I apologize

But I stand by my initial comment that the caretakers were irresponsible and careless. This could have become a tragedy.

You perceived culture/nationality where I did not. Again, my respectful apology.

[yuiyoshida]

29. I grew up around Cantonese kids..

I don't know the language but My ears knows Cantonese when I hear it just like I know Mandarin when I hear it or Japanese. I grew up in an exclusive Chinese Neighborhood in San Francisco, and British Columbia also has a large Chinese population, as I have gone there many times to visit with friends in Vancouver to go to Hockey Games. (Canucks) and my friends there were Chinese.

[MrPurple]

36. They just lack experience

They're probably city people whose only perception of sea lions has been as playful anthropomorphized creatures that do tricks and clap their fins together to be fed fish. They should have backed up the first time it breached, but it fit with their preconceptions that the seal was just being playful.

Actually, it seemed like when the seal first heard the girl's high pitched squeals is when it oriented back toward them and breached quickly. It appeared to perceive something small and vulnerable enough to be prey.

[MurrayDelph]

13. I'm glad she didn't get hurt

But this invites why in the US, the Marine Mammal Protection Act dictates a minimum distance of 50 yards.

When my wife was a docent at the Elephant Seal rookery in San Simeon, she frequently had to explain to visitors why they couldn't go down to the beach to take pictures of themselves playing with these 2+-ton predators.

[dhill926]

18. I've been there many times...

amazed I haven't seen anyone let their dog loose yet....it sure wouldn't last long. Elephant Seals can be mean mofos....

[MurrayDelph]

32. My wife once met Vigo Mortenson

Told him to put his dog on a leash.

[dhill926]

37. cool....and haha, it figures....

[jeffreyi]

15. That's not a killer sea lion

It's a bunch of stupid idiot humans who think other creatures are supposed to amuse them. Wrong.

[angrychair]

16. This is not a Disney movie

That is a predator and you are food.

Any questions?

[hunter]

17. When our kids were small there was a pier we'd visit.

Near the public restroom was a warning sign about the sea lions. It depicted a toothy sea lion ripping the hand off a stick figure tourist, blood spurting.

I wish I had a photo of it because it's long since been removed, probably because nearby businesses didn't want to scare the tourists away.

I've been bumped playfully by sea lions and seals while snorkeling and kayaking. It's scary even when I'm certain they've got no intention of harming me.

Wild animals are wild animals. They have teeth. They do unexpected things.

[nolabear]

20. People seem to think the world exists for their amusement.

That poor animal may well be killed now because they've enticed him, fed him, and he jumped up just as they were teaching him to do, and grabbed the wrong thing.

It's not your pet. It's not a petting zoo. It lives its own life. Leave it the hell alone!

[Oneironaut]

22. lol they didn't even thank the guy who jumped in.

Animals get aggressive when fed by humans. The sea lion was probably acting out because it wanted more food.

[seaglass]

40. And he lost his sunglasses! n/t

[Johnny2X2X]

24. It's a 400 lb carnivore

Sea Lions are no joke. They are extremely powerful predators. I mean it's not like they are called Sea Bunnies, they're literally the Lions of the sea.

[redwitch]

30. Wow! The rescuer was amazing!

He was in that water instantly! I don't think he even had time to register what he was doing! And thank goodness for the people who pulled them both out immediately, that was stunning!

[mn9driver]

33. I've seen aggressive play behavior like this between sea lions.

But not between a sea lion and a human. He tested her by breaching and when that seemed ok and she didn't retreat, he pulled her in. Smart animal; he grabbed her dress and probably didn't put a mark on her.

The fact that she could easily drown or be otherwise injured isn't a sea lion thought. It was play, but these animals can cause serious injury without meaning to. And if they want to hurt you, watch out.

Glad everyone was ok.