Video: Scuba Diving Photographer Gets Up Close & Personal with Cuddly Harbor Seals

It is hump day, and something tells us it’s time for a relaxing/adorable first person video of a scuba diving photographer getting friendly with some harbor seals. It’s that time right?

The original video, which was captured near the Farne Islands in the UK (specific location here) by scuba diving photographer Jason Neilus, was uploaded some 5 months ago, but has recently enjoyed a renewed surge of popularity thanks to GoPro who decided to upload it to their own YouTube Channel.

Above you see the GoPro version, while below we have the full video put together by Neilus. Both are worth watching, especially if you’re having a rough hump day and want to be reminded that… I don’t know… there are happy cuddly animals out there who are willing to be photographed in exchange for a belly rub?

A few disclaimers that Neilus shared in the video description are worth reprinting here for any photographers who want to try this for themselves:

Disclaimer: The seals are wild animals and approach the divers entirely by their own choice. No seals are forced to interact or forced to stay. No seals are harmed by diver interaction. Seal interaction in the UK (where this was filmed) is not illegal.

Extra disclaimer: These seals are young pups who are very curious about the area in which they live. At the time of year that this was filmed the seals were about 2-4 months old and already 2m long and about 200-300lbs in weight. As always once the seals get older and move off to form colonies of their own elsewhere and the majority of them will not see people again. Fully adult seals are rarely this interactive and whilst tolerant of divers they tend to keep away after their first year of diver visits.

Now that that’s out of the way, check out both videos above and let us know what you think in the comments down below.

(via Laughing Squid)