Shakira attacked by scary sea lion

Shakira has thanked her brother for saving her life on Sunday (12Feb12) after she was attacked by a sea lion.

The Hips Don't Lie hitmaker was taking a photo of the creature with her cell phone when it leaped out of the water to bite her.

Shakira admits the close call would have ruined her vacation in South Africa if her brother Tony hadn't been there to rescue her.

In a post on her blog, she writes, "I was attacked by a sea lion! 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."

Shakira escaped serious injury and walked away with minor scratches on her hands and legs thanks to her brother's heroic actions.