We got up very early this morning, around 6 am. As we stepped up on deck, there was a great deal of commotion in the water. First I saw a young seal surfacing, flapping its fins wildly. I couldn’t really understand what it was up to at first, but after a while it got clear that it was playing with a friend. Only the friend was not a seal. It was a Comorant.
(Filmed by Denise of the French yacht Manman Dilo)
The bird and the seal took turns at diving around each other and doing short chases on the surface. Then the seal dived down and the bird popped its head under water for a long while, twisting around to see if it could spot the seal coming up. When it came up the two faced each other on the surface, the bird spreading its wings and the seal raising its body and flapping its fins towards the bird while barking excitedly. Then they dived again and starting rolling around chasing each other. To me it was very clear that none of the animals were hostile towards the other, there was no violence at all and no attempts to flee. Just tumbling around in a friendly chase.
I have no idea if this is common around here, but I’m pretty sure I have never before seen animals of two so wildly different species engaged in play!
Comments
One response to “Early morning wildlife experience”
Wonderful! I have played with wild sealions in the Galapagos islands. The locals said that they get so much to eat that they are very friendly. The older males could give you a bite because they are defending their territory. One of them did bite my fin. You should take care swimming with all sels. Walrosses occationally eat seals.