Massive 750-pound sea lion almost crushes aquarium worker during escape attempt

17 July 2023 , 20:19

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The moment a large sea mammal falls on top of its trainer at a Florida aquarium (Image: mediadrumimages/@sandkeysurf)

An influencer managed to capture footage of an aquarium employee being crushed by her charge - a 750 pound sea lion, escaping its enclosure, in Clearwater, Florida.

Micah Diaz, 20, from Florida, was visiting Marineland in Mallorca, where he was witness to a problem that only aquarium workers in the sunshine state could have - a sea lion escaped its enclosure and dropped onto an employee with its full weight.

As an avid surfer, Micah has always felt very comfortable around sea creatures and water, and so he wanted to experience some up-close action of sea lions and dolphins while visiting Marineland in Mallorca with his family. While sitting on one of the audience pews in-between shows, Micah looked up to realise that a sea lion was attempting to escape the pool in front of him.

An influencer captured the moments an escaping sea lion fell on its trainer (mediadrumimages/@sandkeysurf)

At 750 pounds, a falling sea lion is no joke, as this Florida aquarium worker managed to survive being crushed (mediadrumimages/@sandkeysurf)

An employee came over to try and push the sea lion back into the water, but it was too late, as the sea lion had already made it over the clear glass wall surrounding the pool. Before Micah had even registered what had happened, the sea lion flopped all of its 750-pound weight on top of the female employee.

“The sea lion was then taken away,” he said. "I’m assuming to be checked out for injuries or put back in the tank. This does not happen often. It seemed as if the sea lion got a little excited. But thankfully, both were ok.”

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Completely shocking onlookers who thought the trainer would be a goner, the employee had gotten up and petted the sea lion as a gesture that both were unharmed and still friends.

The sealion and its trainer, lying on the ground after the animal jumped out of the enclosure pool and onto this woman (mediadrumimages/@sandkeysurf)

The trainer gives the sea lion at pat and a snack to show they're both alright after the 750-lb animal nearly crushed its trainer (mediadrumimages/@sandkeysurf)

With many on the internet criticising the situation, the Humane Society released a statement reminding people that “The Humane Society of the United States believes that these animals are best seen in their natural coastal and ocean environments instead of being held captive simply to entertain people."

Opposition groups like this one maintain that ocean creatures swim dozens of miles daily and that aquariums are not adequate for holding animals like sea lions, dolphins, and orcas, who are prone to developing depression as well as physical illnesses due to the small places they're forced to inhabit.

While this particular incident was an accident, sea lions in California made headlines last week when scientists discovered groups of the large creatures were becoming aggressive due to the bloom of toxic algae found near Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Initially, wildlife experts warned individuals to stay away from these rock-loving mammals who are especially dangerous to surfers and boaters.

Yelena Mandenberg