A sea lion pulled a girl off the dock and into the water at Steveston Harbour in British Columbia on Sunday while she was feeding the animal.
A bystander jumped in the water saved her, giving the viral video of the incident a happy instead of a tragic ending, said CBS News. Witnesses helped the girl and the man back onto the dock.
The family was criticized for "reckless behavior."
Robert Kiesman, chair of the Stetson Harbour Authority, pointed out that there are many signs at the dock that warn people about feeding the sea mammals.
"You wouldn't go up to a grizzly bear in the bush and hand him a ham sandwich, so you shouldn't be handing a thousand-pound wild mammal in the water slices of bread," Kiesman said.
"And you certainly shouldn't be letting your little girl sit on the edge of the dock with her dress hanging down after the sea lion has already snapped at her once. Just totally reckless behaviour,” Kiesman added.
Michael Fujiwara, a university student in Richmond, captured the whole thing on camera.
"They were pretty shaken up," Fujiwara told Canada's CBC News about the girl's family which had been feeding the sea animal bread crumbs. "Her family were just in shock."
Bruce Okabe, CEO of Tourism Richmond, called the incident a "rare" and "isolated occurrence."
"Richmond is one of the safest cities in North America," Okabe said in a statement, according to CBS News. "We believe the incident involving a child and sea lion is a rare and isolated occurrence and we would not expect to see it happen again. The safety of all tourists is of a top priority for us and I cannot stress how safe visitors are in any part of our city."
"Interactions with wild animals should always be approached with caution," Okabe added. "We hope she wasn't injured."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.