Michael Fujiwara was taking a video of a sea lion near a dock at the Steveston Fisherman Wharf in Richmond, British Columbia when disaster struck.
“I was just sitting by the dock and then this sea lion popped its head out of the water just in front of me. I just took out my cell phone and started filming,” he told the Vancouver Sun.
Standing beside Fujiwara was a little girl who was mesmerized by the large aquatic mammal. “She and her family, I guess, they came, they started feeding the animal bread crumbs or whatever it was, and then I guess the animal got a little too comfortable,” Fujiwara commented. The little girl giggled and gasped as the sea lion grew closer.
No one expected the creature to jump up and grab the girl’s dress.
In a single shocking moment the girl was pulled backward into the water. Without hesitation, one of her family members dove in after her and pulled her to the surface.
Frightened but unharmed, the little girl was pulled to safety with a healthy respect for aquatic life.