Actress Loulou Taylor was attacked six times by a seal in a terrifying ordeal which she compared to a scene from Jaws.
The Raised by Wolves actress was bitten by the animal as she swam in the sea at Clifton beach in Cape Town, South Africa.
The seal was first spotted in the shallows before it latched onto a young boy.
It could be seen entering the water before making a beeline for the youngster.
Beachgoers rushed to his rescue before it turned on Loulou.
The terrifying moment was caught on camera by one witness.
The seal pup is seen entering the water before making a beeline for the boy.
The seal nips at the youngster’s heels as he tries to run away before attacking him in the waves.
Several men were seen pushing the seal pup away before dragging the boy from the sea.
The animal then swam directly towards Loulou, who was on her own further out at sea.
She let out a shriek as she tried to fight off the animal.
Several people rushed to help her, before a man grabbed the animal and threw it back into the sea once everyone was out of the water.
Loulou said on Instagram that she was bitten six times and had to go to a hospital for treatment.
She also included an image of the ‘Jaws’ poster with the great white shark replaced by a seal.
She said that algae bloom that releases neurotoxins are to blame for the increase in seal attacks.
The actress explained that it was “more than likely global warming/water pollution”.
According to reports, two people were treated for bite wounds following the seal attack.
After the incident, the City of Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) urged beachgoers to always maintain a safe distance from marine wildlife.
The NSRI stated that similar incidents involving aggressive seals took place at Noordhoek and Fish Hoek in recent months.
The Cape Good Hope SPCA said announced that they are investigating the reasons why the seal pup acted in such a way, adding: “Although the SPCA did visit the scene of the incident, the child and woman who were attacked by the seal had left by the time the SPCA Inspectors arrived.”
Experts at the Department of Environmental Affairs are also investigating the beach incident.
Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre said: “When we arrived the incident had not happened yet.
"The animal went into the ocean and this is when the chaos happened, with people shouting and screaming, the poor animal was so traumatised it was biting people and going crazy.
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“People were beating it and kicking it.
“We were then asked to stand down by the COCT and not remove the animal in front of people after the incident, as it might be upsetting.
“The beachgoers were lucky… it was only a yearling approximately 12 months old, weighing no more than 10kg by the looks of it.”
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