The video of a girl being dragged into the water by a Sea Lion in Canada has gone viral over the last two days. In case you haven't seen it yet, here's a link to the video on YouTube.
In the video, the sea lion grabs the young girl by her dress and drags her into the water off the dock. Shouts of panic are heard before a brave rescuer jumps into the water to save her.
What's the danger
Apart from the fact that the little girl could have drowned, sea lion bites can lead to nasty infections that might have required an amputation. If the amputation doesn't stop the infection, it might even prove fatal. This is caused by bacteria in Sea lions' mouths which can cause a specific kind of infection.
This could have been completely avoided
There are several signs posted around the destination that's popular with tourists, warning them not to feed the mammals in the area. Sea Lions weigh around 1,000 pounds and you wouldn't allow your daughter to feed a grizzly bear, so why would you allow her to sit at the edge of the water, especially after the sea lion already snapped at her once?
Lessons learnt
There are many online who are shaming the girl and her parents. Honestly, there's no need for that. Sure the decision to feed the sea lion was ill advised and but to publicly shame them is counterproductive in my opinion. I just hope this incident serves as a reminder to all that warnings are there for a reason and that it's in our best interests to heed them.
Lucky girl..good work by rescuer...
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Agreed. If it weren't for the rescuer, the situation would have been a lot worse.
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Trauma for the rest of the life...
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Agreed... hopefully now she doesn't get any infections.
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Can't blame the animal too much. They can be very aggressive also. I was surfing one day and one chased me out of the water. It followed me and wouldn't let me back in. They seem playful but they are very aggressive and will bite.
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They are and i was surprised to find out that they weigh around 660 - 1,000 pounds. That's massive.
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They can be very large indeed. Consider that they are pretty much all fat, blubber.
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Parents need a lesson on animals, these things eat SHARK
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Had no idea but they really do! Not great whites but still amazing.
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Yes, they hunt Great Whites. It's a snack for them. That was the danger this child was in, it is also 20 times her weight.
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If he wanted her dead, she'd be dead.
Once you're in the water, they decide what happens, not us.
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Agreed. Hopefully this serves as a lesson to all, especially over-excited tourists.
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Seems as if they goaded a wild animal and didn't expect what should have been an obvious reaction.
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Pretty crazy. I say its just a shitty situation. Poor girl. Wrong place wrong time!
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