Curious Seal Makes for Super Clingy 'Dive Buddy'

Diver and doctor Ben Burville was reflecting on the political turmoil in the UK recently when he posted this video of an extra friendly seal. “It’s a calmer world down there sometimes,” he mused on Twitter.

The footage he posted, taken, he said, this past October, shows a particularly intense encounter with a curious seal. The animal can be seen lying across Burville, gnawing on his gloves, and grabbing his hand for a “flipper” shake.

“Sometimes my #DiveBuddies can be a bit ‘clingy’,” Burville joked on Twitter.

However, with his doctor’s hat on, Burville did warn that touching seals should ordinarily be avoided. “They have rather unpleasant bacteria in their mouths,” he told Storyful. “These bacteria can cause serious infections.”

He went on: “They may look like dogs but are more related to bears. They have powerful flippers and claws.”

Burville recorded this footage off the Farne Islands, in Northumberland, which is home to a large colony of grey seals. Credit: Ben Burville via Storyful