'Inquisitive' seals ask diver to remove his mask

Underwater cameraman Ben Burville captured the moment he gave in to some inquisitive seals that were fascinated by, and pulling at, his mask, by removing it and revealing his face to them. Ben Burville, a scuba diver who works as a doctor in the coastal town of Amble, Northumberland, by day, has built up a rapport with seals in the area after nearly 20 years diving among them. Burville told Storyful that this footage shows the “inquisitive” seals trying to remove his mask and peel back his neoprene diving hood. Burville said that after he removed his mask to see how one creature would respond, the seal began to tug at his hood and tap his head. “They seem to know that these bits of kit are not me,” Burville said. “Seals engage in physical ‘play’ with each other and in both of these clips they are simply exhibiting this ‘play’ behaviour with me,” Burville said. Burville said he “would not advise” other “divers to remove their masks underwater in the North Sea when a marine mammal is nearby.”
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