Photobomber of the Year: Diver Gets Unexpected Cuddle From Seal Underwater

Human photobombers are great, but sometimes animals also join the picture in unexpected ways. The art of photobombing or crashing someone's picture is a popular concept online with tons of people, and not to mention a few members of the animal world engage in.

By definition, photobombing is the accidental or purposeful act of putting oneself into the view of someone else's photograph, most often done as a practical joke. If it is true, then animals are fairly good at accidents, or they are playing a joke to humans.

People on the internet love funny animal pictures, so it makes sense if there are a lot of them circulating the web. Land animals are commonly known to photobomb selfies.

But a British diver was able to take the experience of a lifetime when a seal cuddled him while he was taking a selfie underwater.

Embraced by a Seal

In October 2019, Ben Burville, an NHS doctor and visiting marine researcher at Newcastle University, was swimming near the Farne Islands when a seal swam up to him and patted his head, according to British news agency SWNS.

This 51-year-old diver from Morpeth, Northumberland said he did not panic while this happened, for he has been diving with animals for nearly 20 years already, Fox News reports.

According to Burville, the seals are very clever animals. "They will try and prise the diving gear off my head -- but they know the difference between what is gear and what is my face. They wouldn't dig their flippers into my face," he said.

He noted that his 20-year experience swimming with gray seals made him feel at ease during the experience of a lifetime. He petted the seal's flipper and gave its face a playful rub.

During his 20 years' experience, he said that the seals had taught him how to dive in a way that makes them also feel relaxed and move underwater in a way that the animals liked. Burville considers himself lucky that he got to do it during his spare time.

"I'm always very relaxed when my dive buddies are seals. It's a great way to de-stress underwater," he added.

Gray Seals in the British Isles

Gray seals are the larger of the two species of seal that are commonly found in the British Isles. The two centers of its population in the North Atlantic and the largest in Canada lies mostly in the Scottish waters.

According to WildlifeTrust.org, gray seals come ashore to give birth. They come in large colonies on the sandy shores of the east coast of England and on remote beaches and islands.

Their pups are born sometime in September and December and remain on land until they shed their white coats and increased their birth weight, at which time they have already learned how to hunt for themselves.

They are protected under British law since 1970 and can be seen year-round near the shore or resting on the rocks.