Shakira Attacked by Sea Lions, Saved by Brother

Source Pop singing sensation Shakira was attacked by a sea lion in a dramatic incident while on a recent nature tour off Cape Town, South Africa. She believes the pinniped may have mistook her shiny BlackBerry for a fish, and says her brother saved

her life.

Shakira, who is from Colombia, described the attack this week on her 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 aggressive, and their bites can spread painful and serious disease.

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.

"It probably thought I was teasing it with food and then taking it away from it. Wow! It's funny that only half an hour before I was complaining to my guide Andrew that I never get to see wild animals up close on adventurous trips.

"Oh well, I can't say that anymore!! Now I'm off to see some penguins! I hope they are a bit more friendly!"

Judging from Shakira's Facebook photos (see top image), the penguins were, indeed, much friendlier than the sea lion, and more gracious in her company.