Seal Pup Don’t Care … It’s Nap Time

Photo credit:Roy Mangersnes via Huffington Post

Two visitors to Livingston Island in the South Atlantic near Antarctica got a surprise when an elephant seal pup decided one of them looked like a suitable pillow. Who could blame him, the beach is pretty rocky.

Lea McQuillan and Helen Willcock were joining a photography expedition from WildPhoto Travel. McQuillan is the expedition ship’s hotel manager and Willcock is the ship’s doctor. They decided to join the tour group to “stretch their legs”. 

The two sat down to take a break. That’s when the juvenile seal approached them.

“After smelling the hand of Lea for a while he decided to use her lap as a pillow,” photographer Roy Mangersnes said. “It didn’t take long before he boldly climbed all the way into her lap and fell asleep on top of her.”

People are forbidden from getting too close to Antarctic wildlife, in this case the seal initiated contact and was never a threat, despite its large size, sad Mangersnes.

After a couple of hours of catching some zzz’s, the seal pub moved on back to the water.

Check out the full story over at The Huffington Post.