Diver captures the terrifying moment of sea lion attack, California

Thinking quickly, Chris brandished the aggressive animal with his spear gun, sending it into retreat

* Freediver Chris Okamoto came face to face with an aggressive sea lion

* Thinking quickly, he used his speargun to brandish the animal

* Thankfully, the startled sea lion immediately retreated and swam off

This exceptionally rare moment nearly ended in disaster.

Chris Okamoto, a freediver who was spearfishing off the Santa Barbara, California, coast, came face-to-face with an angry sea lion.

Thankfully, quick-thinking Chris used the butt of his speargun to scare the animal away - just seconds after it charged towards him with its mouth open.

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The day started out harmless enough.

Chris was enjoying a peaceful dive, along with his camera, used to capture the lovely underwater views, when a colony of sea lions swam toward him.

One sea lion seemed particularly curious about Chris and, after swimming by several times, made his move.

Quick-acting Chris, however, used his spear to push the animal away, before the sea lion could charge him.

Chris Okamoto, a freediver in California, experienced an exceptionally scary - and exceptionally rare - moment as a pasing sea lion attacked

'I am guessing the sea lion were patrolling in the open ocean and were attracted to the bait fish that were nearby,' Chris said.

'At first, it looked like they were just curious and approached me from the blue water. One of them made several passes and then as it got closer, it rushed towards me with its mouth open.

'I was not hurt at all, just a bit shaken when it first occurred.

I've had them do mock rushes before where they blow bubbles in your face, but this one came much closer and as soon as it rushed toward me, I swung the butt of my gun up and it stopped short.

I wasn't sure if it was going to rush me again, so I swung the gun back up with the muzzle towards the group and they took off.'