A woman witnessed the brutal side of nature in the waters south of Nanaimo last week.
Lindsay Bryant was getting ready to go for a swim in the ocean off the Cedar shoreline south of Nanaimo on Thursday, Nov. 16, at about 12:30 p.m., when she saw a sea lion behaving unusually in Stuart Channel about 100 metres offshore.
sa国际传媒淚 was getting ready to go for a swim, which I do several times a week there, and itsa国际传媒檚 not uncommon to see a sea lion eating fish sa国际传媒� throwing them around a little bit,sa国际传媒� Bryant said.
At first the sea lionsa国际传媒檚 behaviour caused her to suspect the animal might be in distress, possibly even caught in a net, or was ill, but it was only after Bryant picked up her cell phone and video recorded the activity that she realized what she had seen.
sa国际传媒淚t went on for about five minutes, or so, and I couldnsa国际传媒檛 quite tell from where I was, exactly what it was until I go home and sat down and looked at my video and zoomed in,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 was a little surprised to see that it was an octopus.sa国际传媒�
Bryant said in the first few moments in the video it appears the octopus is putting up a fight and trying to grab onto the sea lionsa国际传媒檚 head.
sa国际传媒淚t looked like the octopus kind of had a hold on it. It was putting up a fight, for sure,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淲ith all those legs I cansa国际传媒檛 imagine it would be an easy catch.sa国际传媒�
In the video the sea lion can be seen thrashing with the octopus in its mouth and then tossing the animal before going after it and repeating the action. After a few moments the activity quieted down and the sea lion submerged.
sa国际传媒淭he sea lion sort of went under the water for a minute, things quieted down and then, maybe 10 or 15 second later, I saw it surface up the channel a little bit more so Isa国际传媒檓 assuming he had his lunch,sa国际传媒� Bryant said.
She enjoys swimming in cold winter water of the channel, which she said has health benefits, and she participates in polar bear swims as well.
sa国际传媒淚t started as a New Yearsa国际传媒檚 Day tradition with my sister and then we just started going more and more,sa国际传媒� she said.
Bryant said she wished she had a better camera to record the event. Based on the size of the sea lion, which she said is one of the larger ones shesa国际传媒檚 seen in the area, she estimated the octopus was fairly large too.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檇 never seen an octopus before sa国际传媒� I had in an aquarium, but not in the wildsa国际传媒a国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚 usually paddleboard out there, so Isa国际传媒檓 slightly glad I wasnsa国际传媒檛 out in the water with them.sa国际传媒�
To view the video of the sea lion and octopus encounter, visit .
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