'I jumped off a bridge to end my life but was saved - by a sea lion' says Baby Baluga singer RAFFI
International singer/songwriter RAFFI who was suffering from mental illness and depression has revealed how a sea lion saved his life after he tried to kill himself.
The world renowned Canadian born child entertainer jumped off Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge in 2000, but against all the odds he managed to survive.
RAFFI told how his depression had led him to see life through a "bit of tunnel vision," leading him to think he had to die.
After plummeting into the waters and surviving the fall, he thought he could see a shark underneath him.
He told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: "[I was] in the water desperately trying to stay alive and stay afloat, [and] I guess you would call it a mammal began swimming beneath me and I'm thinking, 'Oh man, a shark is about to devour me'."
But it was no shark - it was a sea lion.
He added: "I was on this CBC radio show in Canada for suicide prevention and I mentioned that I thought there was this shark on this show and a man wrote into the show and he said, 'Raffi, I'm so very glad you're alive, I was less than two feet away from you when you jumped'
"He said: 'It haunted me until this day; it was no shark, it was a sea lion and the people above looking down believed it to be keeping you afloat until the coast guard brought a ride behind you.'"
RAFFI now dedicates his life to trying to prevent suicides, working as a mental health advocate and giving speeches around the world...he's also on tour with his new kids album "THE DAY I JUMPED OFF A BRIDGE BUT WAS SAVED BY A SEA LION"