(SUN-SENTINEL) — Eight-year-old Jillian Thomas is so obsessed with dolphins that when her parents brought her to SeaWorld Orlando last week, she made sure to visit the dolphin cove twice.
But she and her parents received the fright of their lives when the marine mammal lunged toward her during the feeding and snapped his toothy snout around the 8-year-old’s hand.
Her father, Jamie Thomas, captured the Nov. 21 attack on video with images of his little girl’s face contorting with pain when the dolphin bit her hand. He posted it online as a warning to other parents.
“The first thing I thought was I would have to jump in the water and save my daughter’s life,” Thomas said. “I literally thought she was going to be pulled into the water.”
