Nicholas Lewis is a 41-year-old crab and lobster fisherman who often works in Peel Bay on the Isle of Man.
It’s there that he made an unlikely friend a decade ago – a seal he calls “Shauna.”
A new friend
In September of 2020, Lewis posted footage of he and his fellow fisherman Mark Cain helping Shauna out and the video has gone viral.
While it’s unclear what news sources originally published the information, Good News Network reported that Lewis said the seal – who is now blind – is like his “own child” and that because he sees her every day, he “loves her very much.”
Lewis is happy to share a mackerel or two from one of his three fishing boats with her – and we all know that’s the best way to make friends with a seal!
According to GNN, he said:
“When she was just a little pup she’d appear and we’d always feed her and she became so confident and comfortable around us. I don’t think we’d go a single morning without her coming to say hello.”
At first, Lewis wasn’t sure he wanted a seal hanging around, but now he loves their daily “hellos.”
“She used to come up the steps to wait for us knowing that we’d be there in the morning. It was a bit startling at first seeing a seal waiting for you like you had an appointment. I love seeing her by my boat—she’s fascinating.”
A friend in need
Shauna hasn’t always been blind. In fact, Lewis and his crew have watched her eyesight deteriorate over the last year. In 2019, her left eye began turning white and by the end of the year, it was completely cloudy.
Six months later, the same thing happened in her other eye.
Now Shauna gets lots of extra snacks and attention – especially since she’s become more injury-prone.
Lewis shared a video on Facebook of Cain helping Shauna after she got tangled up in a fishing line in the harbor. After he was contacted by viral news aggregator SWNS, he sold the footage, which then went even more viral.
Free Shauna
In the footage, you can see Cain on his stomach beckoning Shauna over by patting the water so he could cut the fishing line for her. But even after several tries, he wasn’t able to reach far enough to get it off of her.
Presumably, Lewis filmed as Cain tried to knock on the boat to get the blind seal’s attention.
And it turned out that the strategy worked. He was finally able to get her close enough to release her from the line.
As she headed back out to sea, some say she appeared to turn around to acknowledge the fishermen’s help. She’s blind, of course, but she knows from what general direction the assistance came.
Lewis has posted plenty of videos of Shauna on his Facebook page, each one illustrating the unique relationship they have. In fact, we’re a little jealous!
Be sure to scroll down below to see the latest footage of Shauna’s close call and the save by her fishermen friends.
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