Shakira rescued from angry sea lion

Grammy Award-winning pop star Shakira had to be rescued from a roaring sea mammal Sunday when she ventured too close to a raft of sea lions and a harem of seals in Cape Town, South Africa.

"I thought to myself how cute they were," Shakira, 35, wrote on her Facebook page that day, beneath several photos of the aquatic animals, "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."

The Colombian singer wrote that she "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. We both got our hands and legs scratched by the rocks while trying to protect ourselves."

It was unclear which of her two half-brothers with similar names she was referring to: Tonino or Antonio. A publicist with her longtime label, Epic Records, said he was unsure.

While sea lion attacks on humans are rare, the animals -- the males can weigh 440 to 2,200 pounds, depending on the species -- can be territorial. Shakira theorized that the sea lion "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."

Although she posted a photo of her left hand with a cut on it, she remained good-humored about the ordeal.

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"Wow!" she wrote. "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!"