It’s adorable enough when this sea lion starts playing tag with a little girl looking at his tank at the National Zoo. It’s when that little girl, falls, though, that the sea lion reaches new levels of sweetness, and reminds us all that interspecies friendships are some of the best. You have to see the entire adorable moment, all captured by YouTuber Ariel Myren.

The majority of the video is just as adorable as the big moment itself. While at the aquatic exhibit at the zoo, his little girl catches the eye of a playful sea lion and two hit it off immediately! And, as you’d expect, they immediately began to play with each other.

In this case, tag was the name of the game.

The sea lion took off down the length of his tank and the little girl immediately followed, running along the glass, chasing her new friend. Once he was caught, the little girl led the way, running back down the length of the tank. The sea lion followed close behind until he “tagged” the little girl, and this went back and forth for some time.

Although they’re essentially doing the same thing for a while, we have to admit we can’t take our eyes off of them! The sea lion is downright graceful and they look like they’re having so much fun together, despite the glass separating them and the fact that they’re not even the same species. It’s even more adorable to watch their game with the little girl wearing what looks like a Disney princess dress and the sea lion flitting around like an acrobat in his tank!

But the highlight of the video has yet to come.

Right before the video ends, the little girl trips over her own quick feet and takes a serious tumble. It’s not too surprising; she was running pretty fast to keep up with her aquatic new friend and kids her age have a tendency to fall when they’re playing. The people all around her gasp and rush to her aid, asking her parents if she was alright over and over. She was fine, in the good hands of her parents, but that doesn’t stop us and the people around her from being worried that she’s okay.

But despite all their kind concern, the one person we can’t stop looking at isn’t a person at all!

If you look past the crowd, you’ll see the sea lion stop abruptly in his tank and hover in front of where the little girl fell. Mid-game of tag, he realized his partner wasn’t playing with him anymore. He’s looking through the glass at his new friend with genuine concern; we can tell in that moment that he’s actually worried about the little girl’s safety. We really weren’t expecting this, so to see this sea creature so clearly emotional over this scary moment is really touching.

What do you think about this adorable game of the tag and the sweet moment at the end? Share your thoughts about this kind sea lion in the comments section below.