Curious sea creature follows diver in kelp forest — and snacks on wetsuit. See photos
A curious sea creature stalked a team of divers through a giant kelp forest in California, and even decided to nibble on one of their wetsuits.
Stunning photos posted to Facebook show the dive team’s encounter with an inquisitive harbor seal during a training dive through the kelp forests of eastern Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park, about 80 miles west of Santa Monica.
“Your odds of being stalked by a harbor seal are low, but never zero,” officials with the park said in the Dec. 1 post.
It just depends on the seal’s personality, officials said.
“While harbor seals, one of the more common pinniped species residing in the park, can often be curious with divers underwater, each seal has its own personality,” officials said. “Though this seal decided it just had to have a friendly nibble on a park diver’s wetsuit, others may be skittish and uninterested in human interaction.”
And while people are legally required to respect seals and sea lions’ personal space, they might not respect yours “as this park diver can attest,” officials said.
Channel Islands National Park encompasses five islands off the Southern California coast.
“Isolation over thousands of years has created unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found nowhere else on Earth and helped preserve a place where visitors can experience coastal southern California as it once was,” officials said on the park’s website.
This story was originally published December 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Curious sea creature follows diver in kelp forest — and snacks on wetsuit. See photos."
