Sea lion grabs girl off dock, pulls her into harbor

Story by ABC

A young girl feeding a sea lion on a dock in Steveston Harbour in Richmond, Canada, in British Columbia, was yanked into the water by the massive marine mammal, and the terrifying moments were caught on video that was posted to YouTube.

The girl was with her family on the dock, feeding the sea lion, when it rose from the water toward her face. She then sat on a railing at the edge of the dock, and the animal lunged up, grabbed her by her dress and pulled her into the water.

"Thank goodness, the young lady wasn't hurt, but let it be a warning to everybody: Do not do this," Bob Baziuk, a spokesoman for the Steveston Harbour Authority, told ABC News.

He said it appears that the sea lion in the video was about 1,200 pounds.

A man jumped into the water immediately after the girl was pulled in and rescued her, and people on the dock helped pull the two out of the water. Both were uninjured.