The mammal has been making quite a noise and has sparked the harbour authority into cordoning off the area to avoid a repeat of the infamous 2017 incident
He’s back!
Well, we’re not exactly sure if it’s the same guy from four years ago or a close relative.
But whether or not it’s the sea lion that pulled the young girl into Steveston Harbour in 2017, he or she is still managing to cause quite a stir.
Janice Sieg, who owns the Pierside Deli at Fisherman’s Wharf, spotted the sea lion on Thursday, on the dock just to the east of the wharf.
Sieg said she has never in her 15 years of running her store seen one of the mammals making it up onto the dock.
She told the Richmond News that the noise from the sea lion is “crazy” and that the creature keeps disappearing and returning to the dock, much to the chagrin of photographers trying to capture a shot.
Sieg said a local fisherman told her that the mammal is likely a “baby” weighing in at about 800 pounds.
She said she reported the sighting to Steveston Harbour, who told the News that this is something they take “seriously,” especially after what happened in 2017.
“These aren’t furry, friendly animals…they’re dangerous,” said Jamie Gusto, Steveston Harbour Authority’s general manager.
“So when we see something like this, we have to contact a Fisheries officer right away.
“We’re going to be coming off the area and restricting access and then the officer will be coming down.”
Gusto said she’s not sure how the officer will deal with the situation.
She added that the harbour authority has now cordoned off the area and has alerted the aforementioned Fisheries Department.
“We can’t have a bunch of people heading down there” and risking a “repeat of 2017.”
Sieg posted her photos on Facebook, which inevitably sparked memories of the infamous day in 2017 when a sea lion jumped up and grabbed a young girl from the edge of a dock at the wharf, pulling her into the water.
She had been posing for a photo at the time and people could be seen in the video – that went viral around the world – trying to attract the mammal to come to the surface.
Her grandfather was in the water in a few seconds to rescue her and she was believed to be physically unharmed.
Source/ Richmond-News
