Video Captures Sea Lion Grabbing Girl And Pulling Her Into Water

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A lot of attention is being given to a video that captured a terrifying moment between a wild sea lion and a girl in British Columbia.

It appears a family began feeding the animal along a dock.

The girl came to the edge and the sea lion suddenly pulled her into the water.

Experts say this is an alarming reminder not to get too close to wild animals.

The YouTube video of the incident, posted by Michael Fujiwara, has already garnered more than six million views since Saturday.

At first, Fujiwara was filming a large male sea lion by the Stevenson Wharf in British Columbia.

"A huge crowd just started gathering around me, and a young girl came along with her family, and they started feeding the animal," Fujiwara said.

The girl seemed amused when the sea lion jumped up and seemingly playfully nipped at her.

But moments later as she sat next to the water's edge, the sea lion jumped up again, this time grabbing her dress and dragging her into the water.

Without hesitation, a man jumps in and quickly saves her.

While rare, sea lions have attacked humans before - typically when we get too close.

Experts say in most cases people are the problem.

"You cannot think these are characters out of a Disney movie," said Andrew Trites, UBC Marine Mammal Researcher. "They are not pets. They got teeth; they can bite."

Marine mammal researchers say people wouldn't let their children feed a bear and the same should go for a sea lion and all wild animals.