Chaos sparked after a sea lion escaped an animal show and caused a wild chase in a shopping mall in Luoyang, China.
In a TikTok video shared on Jun. 9 which garnered more than 800,000 views, the sea lion was seen swiftly navigating the mall using its flippers while several men attempted to recapture it.
The incident occurred at the Quanshun Shopping Centre and was filmed on Jun. 8.
The sea lion show was supposed to happen on two nights as part of the mall's promotional efforts on Jun. 8 to Jun. 10.
That weekend celebrated Dragon Boat Festival and marked the end of Gaokao, the most important examination for students in China. As such, many retailers would run promotions to draw businesses.
The great escape
A video uploaded on China social media platform Xiaohongshu on Jun. 8 showed the animal abruptly moving away from the centre of the stage before forcing its head in between a metal barrier in its attempt to escape.
The sea lion was deterred by a man standing at the side of the stage, who held onto the barrier tightly.
Another man approached from the stage and started to hit the sea lion on its back repeatedly with a stick.
GIF adapted from Xiaohongshu video.
It eventually managed to wriggle free from the barrier and escaped past its handlers.
GIF adapted from Xiaohongshu video.
Chased around the mall
The sea lion then ran away from the stage after making its escape, as seen in the TikTok video.
Its handlers gave chase and tried to calm the distressed animal but it continued to flee.
Onlookers who were trying to video the incident were instructed to steer away from the scene.
It was later trapped against a wall outside a Burger King restaurant by several men using metal barriers, luring it back into its cage.
According to Daily Mail, the mall management said that it would strengthen management and protection measures for animals to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again.
@see_china_ 海狮：都到商场了不让我逛一逛吗？ #路人视角 #海狮出逃 ♬ 原声 - พาเธอไปชมประเทศจีน
Top screenshots via 山河邀吻（有事直接私聊/Xiaohongshu & @see_china_/TikTok