Gary Grayson was diving near the Isles of Scilly off the southwestern tip of England when he had an unforgettable close encounter with several Atlantic grey seals. One of them swam right up to him, but Grayson wasn’t worried about being attacked. The seal was obviously just curious and the curiosity was mutual. After bumping noses with him, the seal gazed right into his eyes. Moments later, the seal worked its way around to his left and then rolled over. Grayson got a real surprise when the seal grabbed his hand and demanded a belly rub! As you’ll see in the video, the seal was incredibly happy when his new human friend obliged. It then swam around and got some rubs under the chin. After playing with the diver’s hands a bit and giving him a hug, the seal was on its way.
As Grayson explained, “I’m usually the one with the camera but when I saw everyone had taken a shine to this seal I said, ‘You film, I want a go.’ I have been diving with seals before and had them buzzing around you before but I’ve never had one that stayed so close for that amount of time and was so friendly.”
One expert who saw the video, Ally McMillan, the CEO of Seal Rescue Island, told a reporter at the Huffington Post,”It really shows how sweet, curious and dog-like seals are.”
On his many trips, Grayson has swum with crocodiles, sharks, and dolphins, but he adamantly insists that this clip of him with the seal is his most treasured souvenir. “It was amazing and something I’ll never forget — I have the video on my phone now and watch it all the time. In fact, I’ve probably bored all my friends going on about it.”
Be sure to check out the video we’ve posted of this amazing encounter with a friendly seal. We’d love to hear from you in the comments at Facebook. Be sure to like and share!
https://youtu.be/Oz5pjXQMhiE
