A sea lion caught two boaters by surprise when it leapt into their vessel in a bid to escape killer whales near Vancouver, British Columbia, on September 5.Footage shared by Mark Malleson, a skipper with Prince of Whales Adventures and a research assistant with the Center for Whale Research, shows the moment the sea lion jumped into the boat at Pedder Bay, causing it to tip over.Malleson told CTV News that the whales “sort of passed by the boat” while a sea lion was nearby, and the animal “panicked.”“I don’t think they really knew the situation,” Malleson said of the boaters. “They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”Speaking to Storyful, Malleson said that the encounter is “probably the craziest thing” he has ever seen involving marine mammals and boaters.He said that he started heading over to them as it appeared the boat had flipped, and assumed they were in the water.“Miraculously the sea lion got pitched back into the water as the boat re-righted itself and the couple stayed in,” Malleson said. “Full of water, they motored as quick as they could toward shore. The sea lion porpoised (gave chase) after them for a few seconds before giving up.”He added that the “shaken up” couple made it back to shore with “wet clothes and gear but a great story to tell.” Credit: Mark Malleson via Storyful
