Pop singing star Shakira, after a scary encounter with a sea lion off Cape Town, South Africa, undoubtedly has a greater appreciation of wild animals and how unpredictable they can be.
The entertainer from Colombia, while on a recent nature tour, was ferociously charged by the large pinniped after she had scampered down the rocks to get an up-close photo with her BlackBerry, which she guessed was mistaken as food.
Here's Shakira's description, via the singer's Facebook page:
"This afternoon I happened to see some sea lions and seals. I thought to myself how cute they were so I decided to get a bit closer than all of the other tourists and went down to a rock trying to pet them doing a baby talk while taking pictures...
"Suddenly, one of them jumped out of the water so fast and impetuously that it got about one foot away from me, looked me in the eye, roared in fury and tried to bite me. Everyone there screamed, including me.
"I was paralyzed by fear and couldn't move, I just kept eye contact with it while my brother 'Super Tony' jumped over me and literally saved my life, taking me away from the beast."
Sea lions can be territorial and their bites can spread painful and serious disease. Divers who swim in their company are sometimes charged but not often attacked by the swift and agile mammals. I've personally experienced these false charges while scuba diving and snorkeling in the Sea of Cortez off Baja California.
Shakira added: "We both got our hands and legs scratched by the rocks while trying to protect ourselves. I believe what happened is that it confused the shiny reflection of the BlackBerry I was taking these pics with, with some sort of fish."
She went on to visit penguins, which were much more accommodating, as you can see by the image at the top of this post. The imge was pulled from her Facebook page.
-- Pete Thomas
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