Diver photobombed by dozens of seals – including one who nibbled his head
One of the mischievous creatures was also pictured with bubbles rising from a questionable location.
An underwater photographer has captured a series of remarkable pictures of mischievous seals in South Africa – including one nibbling a diver’s head.
The entertaining creatures were snapped playing in a seaside suburb of Cape Town, an area thought to be home to more than 5,000 of them.
However, one of the marine mammals might want to look away if they ever see their photo, which is a touch on the unflattering side.
The blubbery animal is seen wide-eyed and open-mouthed, with bubbles rising from a questionable location near its backside.
The shocked-looking fur seal, seen flapping his flippers right in front of the camera, also appears to be in need of some additional teeth cleaning.
But the pictures by Russian photographer Mike Korostelev, 39, show the sea creature and his friends enjoying their time underwater with divers in Hout Bay.
Some of the animals are seen spinning and blowing bubbles as they swing by to say hello, though in its excitement one did take things a bit far by biting Mike’s head.
Wildlife enthusiast Mike, from Moscow, said: ‘Seals are very playful and curious creatures, hundreds of them surrounded me while I swam.’
One curious colony took a real a liking to their new human companions and spent quite some time investigating and playing with them.
Mike added: ‘I have encountered and captured seals in their natural habitat many times.
‘On this particular day, I was underwater for over 45 minutes.’
He used a Canon 5d Mark II camera with a fisheye lens to capture the close-up shots.
The South African fur seal species can measure up to almost two-metres in length and weigh 300-pounds.
They spend most of the year at sea but tend to stay close to land.
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