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Moment sea lion drags little girl off dock into water

The sea lion leaps up and grabs the girl's dress: YouTube
The sea lion leaps up and grabs the girl's dress: YouTube

This is the shocking moment a sea lion leaped up and dragged a little girl from a jetty into the water behind her.

The dramatic video, which has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube, initially shows the sea lion jumping very close to the excited girl.

She is warned by someone off-camera to be “careful” – seconds before the animal strikes again while her back is turned.

The sea lion can be seen grabbing the youngster’s dress in its mouth, before dragging her back down to the water with a huge splash.

An adult dives into the murky brown water after her and she is quickly lifted out, to the relief of the stunned crowd.

The shocking incident in Steveston Harbour, near Vancouver, was filmed by student Michael Fujiwara. The footage has been viewed millions of times online.

Signs in the harbour warn the public against getting within 100m of the animal, as well as feeding or touching it.

Nobody is believed to have been injured in the incident.