Girl bitten by dolphin at SeaWorld

ORLANDO, Fla. (WSVN) -- A frightening encounter when a little girl became big bait during a recent trip to SeaWorld.

Feeding time turned frightening at SeaWorld in Orlando.

A little girl was feeding a dolphin when all of a sudden the dolphin chomped down on her hand. "I was thinking it was going to haul me into the water," said Jillian Thomas. "A little crazy, but I thought it was kinda gonna eat my hand off."

The girl suffered three puncture wounds. Her parents posted the video of the November incident on YouTube.

The dolphin unexpectedly bit her after she moved the paper plate that held the fish she was feeding them with. "When I was done, I accidentally held it up," said Thomas. "The dolphin jumped up and ate the carton and bit my hand."

It is something SeaWorld warns guests not to do. "They told us to make sure the paper plate stayed on the wall," said Jamie Thomas, "but we really didn't know why. There was no sign of disclaimer, signs on the walls that says, 'Hey, the dolphin could bite your hand' or the level of risk in this attraction."

Now he wants parents to know the popular attraction can be risky. "We felt powerless," said Thomas. "We thought, 'look we got this video, let's make it public, and let's try to put some pressure on SeaWorld to make some changes.'"

The girl's parents claim SeaWorld seemed to shrug off what happened and didn't even send over a manager. "They did not tell us to look out for any signs of infection," said the victim's mother, Amy Thomas. "They rinsed it with bactine, we had asked for Band-Aids."

The park released a statement stating, "Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our guests, employees and animals. A member of our health services team was in the area at Dolphin Cove and quickly responded and treated the young girl."

A spokesman for SeaWorld noted that the video had not been previously shared with them. They're now investigating.

As for the little girl, she said she still loves dolphins and plans on becoming a trainer.

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