It's already becoming a meme, but this video of a sea lion dragging a little girl into the water is actually pretty scary.
The incident occurred in Steveston, a small community in West Canada. A video shows a California sea lion inching closer to the docks as witnesses throw food at the animal and talk about how cute it is. A little girl can be seen watching the sea lion, and eventually sitting down on the edge of the dock to look at it. Within seconds, the sea lion grabs the girl by her dress and drags her down to the water. A man immediately jumps in to save her, and both are pulled to safety by onlookers. Although no one was hurt, the incident did scare everyone present.
Michael Fujiwara filmed the experience and posted it on Youtube, gaining over a million views, according to The Washington Post.
"They were pretty shaken up," Fujiwara told CBC News. "Her family was just in shock."
Andrew Tites, director of The Marine Mammal Research Unit at The University of British Columbia, told CBC, "My first reaction to the video is just how stupid some people can be to not treat wildlife with proper respect," he criticized. "they are not circus performers. they are not trained to be next to people."
