This playful seal pup really loves the camera – so much so that it tried to steal one.
Caroline Robertson-Brown, 44, was leading a group of underwater photographers around the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, to photograph the grey seal population.
But as the trip came to an end one curious seal was keen to keep a memento and tried to swipe her camera.
This playful seal pup really loves the camera – so much so that it tried to steal one. Caroline Robertson-Brown, 44, was leading a group of underwater photographers around the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, to photograph the grey seal population
But as the trip came to an end one curious seal was keen to keep a memento and tried to swipe her camera
Her partner Nick Robertson-Brown, 64, managed to capture their tug of war on camera.
Caroline, from Manchester, said: ‘The seal had a good try and stealing my camera. I was right at the surface, at the end of a great dive, and this particular seal had been interacting with the group for about 15 minutes.
‘It was time to head back to the boat and as I neared the surface it grabbed onto my camera and pulled. My underwater camera system is worth a fair bit of money, so I wasn’t going to let it win this game of tug of war.
‘Diving with seals has to be one of the best wildlife encounters you can have.
Her partner Nick Robertson-Brown, 64, managed to capture their tug of war on camera
Caroline, from Manchester, said: ‘The seal had a good try and stealing my camera. I was right at the surface, at the end of a great dive, and this particular seal had been interacting with the group for about 15 minutes’
She added: ‘It was time to head back to the boat and as I neared the surface it grabbed onto my camera and pulled. My underwater camera system is worth a fair bit of money, so I wasn’t going to let it win this game of tug of war’
‘These are wild animals, and yet they want to play with you like golden retriever puppies.
‘The young seals are very curious and will come up to divers to see what is going on. They will pull at your fins, grab hold of you, put their noses right up against your mask or camera and even sometimes try to grab hold of the camera and swim away with it.
‘As divers, we feel really privileged to be able to join in with their play. Once they have found you, they just love to show off by darting in and out of the kelp and gullies in the shallows around these islands.’
The diver added: ‘These are wild animals, and yet they want to play with you like golden retriever puppies’
She went on: ‘The young seals are very curious and will come up to divers to see what is going on. They will pull at your fins, grab hold of you, put their noses right up against your mask or camera and even sometimes try to grab hold of the camera and swim away with it’
She added: ‘As divers, we feel really privileged to be able to join in with their play. Once they have found you, they just love to show off by darting in and out of the kelp and gullies in the shallows around these islands’
Pictured, Caroline and Nick wearing their full diving gear and holding their underwater cameras