Pop star Shakira has described how a sea lion "tried to bite" her as she took a picture on her mobile phone.

During a holiday in Cape Town the singer wrote about how the animal "got about one foot away from me, looked me in the eye, roared in fury".

She said: "My brother 'Super Tony' jumped over me and literally saved my life, taking me away from the beast."

Shakira and her brother suffered "scratches" from rocks "while trying to protect ourselves".

In a blog post on her Facebook page titled "Special report: Attacked by a sea lion", the Colombian singer included a photo of a minor cut sustained on her hand.

"Everyone there screamed, including me. I was paralyzed by fear and couldn't move."

Shakira, currently visiting South Africa, explained that she thought the animal had become confused.

"I believe what happened is that it confused the shiny reflection of the BlackBerry I was taking these pics [sic] with, with some sort of fish," she wrote.

"It probably thought I was teasing it with food and then taking it away from it."

The 35-year-old star is best known for having international hit singles such as Wherever Whenever, She Wolf and Underneath Your Clothes.

Her most recent Sale el Sol was released in October 2011.