Shakira hurt dodging seal attack in SA

Cape Town - Colombian pop singer Shakira was injured while trying to dodge a seal attack while holidaying on a Cape Town beach, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.

The singer blamed her BlackBerry for sparking the attack - suggesting the seal mistook the shiny black phone for a fish, the report said.

The 35-year-old Hips Don't Lie singer immediately alerted fans to the situation, posting on her Twitter account, "Omg what just happened to me! I was attacked by a sea lion!" before taking to Facebook to provide additional details and photographs in a "special report".

The incident occurred at the weekend.

Shakira wrote on Facebook on Monday that she decided to get closer to a group of seals because she thought they were cute, when one suddenly jumped out of the water and came within 30cm of her, the website said.

"[It] looked me in the eye, roared in fury and tried to bite me," she wrote.

She was paralysed by fear and was rescued by her brother, who she dubbed "Super Tony" and credited with "saving her life.

"We both got our hands and legs scratched by the rocks while trying to protect ourselves," she wrote.

"I believe what happened is that it confused the shiny reflection of the Blackberry I was taking these pics with, with some sort of fish,", the New York Post reported her as saying