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Australian photographer Robyn Malcolm was whale watching in southern New South Wales when she caught an amazing photo: a fur seal surfing the waves on the back of a humpback whale. She captured the moment by accident and did not notice the hilarious image until later. “I was surprised to find photos of the cheeky seal in amongst the other shots as I didn’t notice him at the time,” she said.
The seal is not as brave as it looks
A humpback whale is a baleen whale, which means it has no teeth and only eats small fish and krill, so the seal is in no danger of being attacked. The whales force fish into tight bait balls so they are easier to catch and that also attracts seals. So not only was this seal hitching a ride on the whale’s back, it was also probably mooching off of his food. Malcolm said she does not think that the seal stayed there for very long. According to National Parks and Wildlife expert Geoff Ross, this behavior is unusual in seals, but not completely unheard of. The only other time he has seen it was when a seal was trying to get away from a killer whale and used a humpback whale’s pectoral fins to escape.
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The whales’ behavior is also unusual
“[The whales] look they are bubble feeding, a very unique behaviour,” Ross said. “We’ve not known humpbacks in NSW waters to feed like this, that’s the first time I’ve seen that happen in NSW waters.” When humpbacks hunt by bubble-netting, they swim beneath the fish and then rise to the surface while creating a wall of bubbles that trap and contain the fish, which the seal then probably tried to grab. But the whale does not seem to mind his companion.
SEE ALSO: A Very Rare Pink Dolphin Was Spotted In Louisiana Waters.
