Cutest Seal Wave
UK ADORABLE Atlantic Grey Seal was captured waving to the camera in the Farne Islands in Northumberland just north of Newcastle.
The grey seal is one of two seal species native to Great Britain and Ireland, the other being the harbour seal, which is slightly smaller, with a shorter face, and less common.
They are pinnipeds, which means ‘fin feet’, and this group diverged from other mammals about 50 million years ago.
Grey seals (Halichoerus Grypus) are mammals that are closely related to bears.
They have a very distinctive head, and their scientific name means “sea pig with a hooked nose”.
Wildlife photographer Brian Matthews from Newcastle captured these images of the adorable “sea pigs”.
“The seals came right up to me and checked me out, including nibbling on my swimming suit fins,” he told mediadrumworld.com.
“This young female was looking at her reflection in my underwater camera housing, probably about 20 inches from me.
“It’s always amazing to be in the water with these wild animals, as they swim so fast around you, often appearing from behind without you knowing.
“I love being in the sea and spending time with wildlife on their terms. They choose to come to me.
“It is impossible to chase or follow them as they’re so fast, so you wait, and hopefully, one of them will be interested and come to say hello.
“Grey seals are recovering well across the UK, and there are now several places you can swim with them around the UK, but the Farne Island are one of the best.
“You can just get on a boat from Seahouses and be there in a few minutes.”
ENDs