While the world’s attention is focused on Brazil for the Vivo Rio Pro, a new hero has emerged on the recreational side of professional surfing. A seal pup was seen by surfers in California a few days ago. The marine creature’s friendliness wasn’t limited to the first meeting; it continued as he hopped aboard the surfboards of his new human companions as they rode the waves and basked in the sun.

Multiple videos of the seal have recently gone viral on the internet, making it a new social media darling. Internet users initially concerned by this positive event have now moved on to just enjoying seeing the cute animal interact with his human companions.

A wholesome interaction between humans and the sea creature

Seals are formidable predators, yet these semiaquatic mammals are surprisingly social. Creatures of this kind are naturally inquisitive, so anything they don’t usually encounter naturally piques their curiosity. The video shows a surfer paddling toward a wave when he is approached by an infant seal that swims up to him and watches him curiously. The seal is attempting to flip around and seize the surfer’s surfboard as the waves begin to break. The seal pup masters the surfboard in a matter of minutes and relaxes peacefully under the blazing sun and crashing waves.

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But the seal doesn’t simply hang out on the surfboard; it also wants to impress its new human companions by doing various tricks, such as rolling down and then back up the board. This time, though, the seal turns to the humans surrounding him once he’s on the surfboard, and he even establishes eye contact with one of them. The surfer adopts the seal’s approach by giving the animal the run of the surfboard so it may bask in the sun and have a good look at its surroundings.

This video, along with additional footage of seals released by Ed Hartel on Instagram, has recently gained a lot of attention online, with many people watching it.

The surfing community react to this

More than 70,000 people watched the seal video in only a few days, making it an Instagram sensation. The touching situation caused netizens’ hearts to melt, and comments poured in.

The seals are social animals, as this comment read, “Little dude was lonely, saw some bigger kids playing, hopped on to join!” The spot has become a tourist attraction just because of the animal; one comment read, “At this point I’m only visiting PB to meet the seal.”

It looks like we have a new surfer in the comment section, as this comment read, “I’ve never wanted to surf before. This just changed my mind.” One of the best moments of the video is described by this comment, which read, “The way it rolled back into the water too cute.”

The seal’s antics were a hit with onlookers, and they undoubtedly contributed to the surfers’ overall enjoyment of the day.

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