A young seal settled on Weymouth Beach in the English county of Dorset at the peak of quarantine and lived there almost completely alone for nine weeks. Then the restrictions were lifted, and the beach began to fill with people, but this did not bother the seal – he did not even think of leaving the acquired place. Visitors did not scare him away, but, on the contrary, attracted him.
Seal – he got the nickname Sammy – was always looking for an opportunity to communicate. He would suddenly jump out of the water onto the back of a swimming person or climb onto a surfboard. The animal also happily posed for the cameras, not at all afraid of people.
One of the beach’s frequent visitors, photographer Will Badman, took a whole series of wonderful photos of a funny animal and shared them with Facebook users. The seal did not even try to hide from him. He waved his fin at the man, smiled and made funny faces in front of the lens.
Soon, Will and the other campers got used to the unusual neighbor, who acted like a pet puppy, and were even willing to take him for a ride on a surfboard.
Soon volunteersfrom nonprofit environmentalorganization found out about Sammy and did everything to ensure that the animal – which had already become a local star – did not suffer at the hands of a person.
Although the young seal is very friendly, people were asked not to forget that it is a wild animal. Visitors were advised not to touch it and generally not to come close. And the owners of dogs demanded special control over their pets.
Thanks to the work carried out by volunteers, the most safe and comfortable living conditions were created for Sammy. Now everyone can come to the beach and look at the local star, and the flow of people never ends – people even come from other cities.
