When you’re out kayaking, you might expect to come across a fish or two, or maybe a couple of gulls. But it isn’t often that you’d come across something any bigger than that. Most sea animals stay a good way off from the coast to keep away from us pesky humans, but every now and then somebody encounters an animal who is pretty willing to become friends with our race.
So when a kayaker from Scotland was out in the North Sea, he was amused to find himself in the company of a particularly friendly seal.
Not only did the seal pop its head out of the water to say hello, but the cheeky little thing decided to take things a step further by clambering on top of the kayak! The incredible video was posted online for us all to see, and we just had to share it with you.
The video was posted onto YouTube by National Geographic, and it has since gone viral with over 11.3 million views as well as thousands of likes and comments. The caption of the video shared the story behind the video, telling us:
“It looks like a puppy following a friend down the road. Only the road in this case is Scotland’s Forth Estuary, an arm of the North Sea near Edinburgh, and the puppy is an energetic gray seal, probably a juvenile.
After tailing kayaker Alistair Forrest and his companion for about a mile, the seal took advantage of a break in the paddling to hop aboard Forrest’s kayak.
There, the sleek marine mammal sprawled out as if ready to come along. Forrest and his companion voice their amazement at the unplanned wildlife encounter.”
The video begins with Alistair’s cheeky new friend bobbing about at the rear of the man’s boat.
As Alistair jokingly tells the seal to “leave his kayak alone,” “don’t chew anything” and “be good,” he seems to be aware of how rare his experience is, repeatedly telling the camera, “I hope this is recording.”
The experience goes on for a couple of minutes before Alistair’s companion arrives to join in on the fun. The seal seems to take even more of a fancy to her kayak, and without any hesitation, the confident creature hauls itself up onto her boat. The pair simply cannot stop laughing as the woman observes:
“I’ve got a seal on my boat.”
Naturally, seals are pretty heavy animals, and Alistair and his companion have to hold onto each other for dear life to stop the seal from capsizing her kayak. But it’s certainly worth it to get the amazing experience that they’re currently having.
In a truly bucket list moment, the woman reaches out her hand towards the seal, and the confident little thing puts his head forwards and sniffs her hand. Then, after deciding that he’s spent enough time on the kayak, he slides back into the water and leaves the pair to reflect on their unique experience.
Alistair sums the whole thing up by commenting, “This is awesome,” and his companion seems to be in agreement.
We’re beyond jealous that we’ve never had an experience like this, but we’re thankful for Alistair’s recording which allows us to pretend that we could have been there. Watch the incredible video below for yourselves.
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