If Bob Baziuk ever wanted publicity for his harbour’s newly minted public wharf, he got it, following a dramatic video of a sea lion pulling a little girl under the Fraser River.
The shocking, two-minute video was shared online around the world over 20 million times, and since then the general manager of Steveston Harbour Authority has been bombarded with calls from the likes of CNN, BBC and NBC, as well as every major Canadian news organization hoping to understand what happened Saturday afternoon.
What happened was a large California sea lion evidently mistook a young girl for a loaf of bread, after reportedly being fed and taunted by looky-loos during the day.
“I’m still flabbergasted by the whole ordeal,” Baziuk told the Richmond News Tuesday after the Fisherman’s Wharf sea lion, for a brief flicker in time, shared headlines with U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest mishaps.
“If there is any good to come of this, it is for people to understand the dangers of feeding wild animals,” said Baziuk.
Vancouver area resident Michael Fujiwara posted the video to his YouTube account, showing the male sea lion, estimated to weigh at least 250 kilograms, lunging up toward the small girl — roughly 25 kilograms — snatching her white dress, as she sat on the edge of the wharf, and pulling her into the water.
A man, reported to be the girl’s grandfather, immediately jumped in after the girl and pulled her to safety. She reportedly was treated for a minor injury and the family denies feeding the animal.
The incident could have been much more serious, said Paul Cottrell, marine mammal coordinator for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Cottrell said the sea lion released the girl once she was in the water, after finding out she wasn’t food. Had a tooth lodged in her or on her dress, she could have been pulled further under water.
“She’s very lucky,” said Cottrell.
“They’re very big and powerful and have very big teeth. It can be very dangerous,” said Cottrell, noting sea lion bites carry a high risk of infection.
During the roughly two-minute video, the sea lion could be seen circling beneath the wharf, next to a fishing boat. At one point it interacts with humans, as one woman describes it as “cute.” And, prior to the stunning takedown of the girl, it lunges toward the girl, as if to test its reach.
Seconds later, the girl turns her back to the water, sits on the edge of the dock, and the sea lion lunges again to pull her into the water — this time successful.
Shaken, the girl reunites with family members and walks away.
Social media commentary criticized the girl’s family for allowing the incident to happen.
Baziuk said it is counterproductive to blame anyone for what happened. That said, he notes those feeding and taunting the animal, as reported by Fujiwara and seen on the video, displayed zero common sense.
“Have some common sense and don’t feed the wildlife. It’s that simple,” said Baziuk.
Because the girl and family was of Chinese ethnicity and the wharf is a popular destination for tourists, especially from China, many on social media speculated whether or not they understood the risks involved with such interactions.
As such, harbour officials are creating universal warning signs, in addition to the newly placed signs, telling people not to feed the animals. Baziuk is also reminding fish vendors not to throw scraps overboard, as to attract the sea lions in the first place.
Baziuk said Richmondites can show leadership and remind folks on the wharf to keep their distance from any marine mammal that approaches the wharf.
“The intent isn’t to pick on people; the intent is to get the message across. So that’s why we’re working on universal signage. It happened. Let’s find a way to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Baziuk.
That message is important, especially since the day after the video went viral, the wharf was flooded with people hoping to get a photo of the sea lion.
Cottrell said feeding a sea lion is no different than feeding a bear — it harms the animal and creates risks for the public.
Cottrell said it is illegal to “disturb” marine mammals under th Marine Act. However, the existing law is fairly broad on the definition of “disturb,” and there are amendments before Parliament to make it clear that feeding wild marine mammals is illegal.
The News reported in 2015 on such amendments. Cottrell said DFO is still waiting on Members of Parliament to pass the new laws.
Fisherman’s Wharf reopened earlier this month after a multi-million dollar renovation to the floats.
