Posted May 22, 2017 14:41:40

A sea lion has been filmed snatching a girl off a dock and dragging her into the water in Canada.

The video, captured by onlooker Michael Fujiwara in Vancouver, showed the sea lion initially pop up toward the girl as bystanders laughed.

The girl then sat by the pier's edge before the massive mammal suddenly shot up and pulled her underwater by her dress.

"It came back up a second time, but this time grabbing the girl by the waist and dragging her down into the water," Mr Fujiwara told CBC News.

The girl and sea lion disappeared before a man jumped in to pull her out, with the help of bystanders.

She appeared uninjured and walked away with adults.

But Mr Fujiwara said she was "shaken up".

"Her family were just in shock," he said.

Marine mammal expert Andrew Trites said the sea lion may have thought the girl's dress was food.

ABC/AP

Topics: animal-attacks, animals, canada