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.