NANAIMO -- A Vancouver Island couple has captured video of upwards of 50 sea lions exiting a cave and stampeding towards the ocean.

The encounter happened on Jan. 23, when Chris German and his partner Gillian Legendre were out exploring the southwest coast of the island.

German says they were walking along an old logging road and then went down a “very faint” forest trail leading to the ocean. 

“We saw them out on the rocks and could hear them below us,” said German.

When they got down to the water, they could see upwards of 50 sea lions exiting a very large cave while several more were out on the rocks.

“We were excited and focused on keeping our balance on the rocks while catching it on video,” said German.