Scuba Diver’s Strange Encounter With Seal Pup Goes Viral

When a videographer unexpectedly encountered a group of seal pups while scuba diving in the sea, their behavior completely took him by surprise. 55-year-old Gary Grayson loves nothing more than taking a walk (or a swim) on the wild side. However, when he ended up bumping into a seal just off the south coast of England, nothing could prepare him for the response he would receive after posting a video of the strange encounter online…

Based on his activity on social media, you wouldn’t think too much of Gary Grayson upon first glance. The middle-aged man from Salford, United Kingdom is happily married and seems to live a pretty simple life. However, when you scratch underneath the surface and take a deeper look at his profile pictures, the true Gary Grayson comes out. All of a sudden, it becomes perfectly clear as to why Gary is the main character of this gripping story…

It turns out that there’s so much more to Gary Grayson than what meets the eye. On his social media profiles, there are numerous photos of him doing high-risk, high-intensity activities such as sky-diving and motorbike riding, to name a few. “I was into sky-diving, I had done aerobatics. I tend to live life on the edge,” he said. However, there is one daring passion of Gary’s that set this story into motion in the first place…

Despite spending many years jumping out of planes and riding motorcycles, Gary also loves nothing more than driving out to the British coastline, putting on some scuba equipment and diving into the sea. There’s something about the water that rings true to Gary. Swimming with a vast array of marine life, it is this aquatic environment that truly makes him feel at one with nature. However, Gary’s passion for scuba diving has certainly put him in some truly dangerous situations…

There is no denying that Gary has diced with death on many occasions during his time in the British waters. As previously mentioned, Gary has a lust for life and loves to live on the edge at virtually every possible opportunity. So it shouldn’t come as too much of surprise that he’s had some risky encounters with some of the most dangerous creatures of the sea – most notably, sharks. Nevertheless, Gary was in store for a very different encounter…

To really hit home Gary’s determination for pulsating action, look no further than the following adventure he embarked on in recent times. Along with some friends, Gary drove down to the southernmost point of England. It was here that the crew wanted to explore the treacherous waters of southern England. Arguably the hottest part of the UK, you wouldn’t think you were on “British” soil if you were on the Isles of Scilly. Nevertheless, this set the scene for Gary’s incredible story.

After acclimatizing to his new surroundings and enjoying the stunning weather that the Isles of Scilly had to offer, Gary and his crew were ready to explore the beautiful waters. Overwhelmed with excitement, this was an adventure that Gary had spent years looking forward to. The waters were so blue and Gary cherished every single moment of this unforgettable experience. In fact, it was his documentation of the adventure that took this story to another level…

It made perfect sense that Gary would be at the center of such an awesome moment. This is because he’s used to capturing his death-defying adventures through a camera. Whether it be through photography or videography, Gary loves to record his experiences in some sort of way and then share them with his friends and family. Normally, Gary’s the videographer. This time though, a friend of his was able to record him as he explored the waters.

According to Gary, he and his friends traveled to this part of the world in order to take a look at the beautiful flora and fauna that lived underwater. However, it wouldn’t take long before the videographer bumped into a family of seals. These marine mammals are common in these parts and are obviously defined by their streamlined bodies, flippers, and whiskers. However, there is a pretty good reason why Gary didn’t intend to interact with the beautiful creatures…

Gary was cautious about getting too close to the seals of Scilly as these wonderful creatures are actually listed as endangered species. Due to serious problems such as climate change and hunting, seals are under serious threat of becoming extinct. Many seals are Arctic creatures who depend on ice to survive. Also, many hunters blame seals for the decline of certain fish and as a result, they get hunted down. Despite his apprehension, Gary’s encounter with the seals was inevitable…

Gary and his friend explored the Scilly waters. Then, suddenly, they noticed a family of seals approaching them. As they got closer and closer, his friend decided to start filming. Neither of them expected such a remarkable thing to happen during their expedition. What made the experience even more memorable was that all of the seals were pups. As they stood still so that they did not scare the seals, they curiously inspected Gary and his friend.

Trying to stay still, Gary couldn’t get over how cute the seal pups were. He was overwhelmed by their adorable whiskers and huge puppy eyes. It was at this point that it hit him – seals are basically the dogs of the sea! Despite lacking typical canine features like the ears, a tail, and paws, the comparison is undeniable. On the other hand, though, the seal is a very unique creature with its own quirks. Gary realized this soon enough…

It’s easy to assume that seals are generally clumsy individuals, especially when they are on land. However, when they reach the water, seals are some of the most skillful, graceful animals of the waters. This is mainly due to the fact that seal mothers feed their pups for just four months before releasing them into the wild. After getting thrown into the deep end (literally), pups adapt to survive, hence why Gary found a group of them.

Needless to say, Gary considered himself to be a very lucky guy, having stumbled across such an adorable group of seal pups. Having encountered seals before, he knew how aggressive they could be. However, these pups were very gentle as they got fairly close to him and his friend. Gary’s friend was absolutely mesmerized as he recorded the footage on video. Then, one of the pups got even closer to Gary, which leads us to the defining moment of this story…

Although the entire group of seals got fairly close to Gary and his friend, one particular seal emerged from the group and proceeded even closer to the divers. The little pup was curious to see what these creatures were doing in their “neck of the woods.” The seal stared intensely at Gary through his visor. At first, Gary was worried that the seal would feel intimidated and do something bad. However, he was in for a big surprise…

Out of all the things that Gary expected the seal to do, he was surprised that the pup simply rubbed its nose on his dive mask. The moment brought a much-needed element of relief to Gary and his friend and the seal swam around the two with what seemed to be pure excitement. Then, Gary reached out his arm to try and stroke the marine mammal. However, what the seal did in return completely took Gary and his friend by surprise…

After Gary extended his arm out to the seal to try and stroke it, the seal did something that the diver could never see coming in a million years. The pup placed his hand in Gary’s hand and shook it! We have a feeling that there has never been a cuter handshake in the history of the universe. And to think that Gary’s friend got it all on video! It wouldn’t take long before other seals tried to get in on the act…

While Gary was closely paying attention to the seal he was shaking hands with, little did he know that there was a second seal floating right behind him. According to Gary, he “had seen other seals in the water but they just buzzed past us…I’m an experienced diver but I have never known anything like that.” The second seal swam behind Gary, paying close attention to his legs. However, it was what Gary did next that added a new dimension to the video…

As soon as the two finished their adorable handshake, the seal did something remarkable – it rolled over on its back, just like a dog! Gary proceeded to rub the seal’s belly, just like he would to one of man’s best friends. In fact, as soon as Gary stopped, the seal tapped him, as if it was asking for more attention. Seal Rescue Island CEO Ally McMillan described seals as “sweet, curious and dog-like.” Which brings us to this moment…

The icing on the dog-like cake was when the seal took a nice long look at Gary’s gloves and started nibbling them. It was simply another indicator that seals are pretty much the dogs of the sea. On the YouTube video, someone commented by saying the following: “If you live underwater and you can’t have a dog because it would drown, just get a seal.” However, some viewers were worried that the seal would cause Gary some pain…

As viewers carried on watching the video, it was clear that the seal pup didn’t really have a dangerous tooth in its body. All it wanted was some attention, as it gently nibbled Gary’s glove. The videographer had absolutely nothing to worry about. Just like that, Gary bid his final farewell to the seal and returned to the shores of Scilly with his friend. The seals happily swam away. Gary knew that he couldn’t just keep the video to himself…

Gary was determined to share his beautiful video with his family and friends. As soon as he got back to his hotel room, the scuba-diver uploaded the video onto his YouTube account and sent the link to all of his loved ones. He did admit that he thinks his friends are sick and tired of the story. “I’ve probably bored all my friends going on about it,” he said. However, the rest of the world can’t get enough of it…

Ever since uploading the video back in 2014, Gary’s video has become an absolute viral hit, attracting more than 15 million views, thousands of likes, and many, many comments. People from all around the world absolutely love the enchanting encounter. However, Gary still seems to be the biggest fan of the video. According to him, he still keeps the video on his phone and watches it every day. It was an incredible moment that Gary will cherish for the rest of his life.