Friendly Seal Joins Kayaker For Paddle In Cornwall

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Rupert Kirkwood – aka The Lone Kayaker – wasn’t so lonely when a cheeky-looking seal decided to jump onto his kayak for a quick paddle.  

Adorable footage taken by Rupert shows the seal hitching a ride on his kayak off the shore of Truro, Cornwall.

Whether the seal had got tired of swimming, or just fancied seeing what the human was up to, it makes for some uplifting viewing.

Watch the video here:

The seal clambered onto the head of Rupert’s kayak, making the boat wobble as he established his position for the ride.

Presumably having spotted the shocked kayaker, the seal gave Rupert a very cute, bashful look. You could describe them as seal pup-py dog eyes.

The grey seal clung to the boat for a few seconds and gave Rupert one last gaze before throwing himself backwards and disappearing into the sea.

Rupert revealed that the seal seemed to have taken an interest in him even before he decided to make himself a passenger on the kayak.

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He said:

This friendly seal followed me for half a mile as I was paddling in my sea kayak and didn’t seem happy till it had jumped on board.

It was in danger of tipping me over.

Rupert shared the video on Facebook with a caption which expresses both his shock and his Britishness; ‘Blinking Heck’.

Rupert explained the full story on his website The Lone Kayaker, writing:

It tucked in behind me as I paddled along, every so often bumping the bottom of my kayak or grabbing the rudder. Half of the time it was upside down and apparently just loving life

I stopped to watch the show as I have never been bumped about so much by any sea creature. In fact the only thing that has impacted my kayak before was a huge Basking Shark about eight years ago.

This seal is not only fun-loving, it would seem to be very clever. Look into its eyes and you can see a bit of friendly mischief.

The wildlife observer continued:

The seal swam round to the front of my kayak for its Grand Finale.

To my total amazement it hauled itself out on the front of my boat with absolutely no sign of fear or hesitation.

As it pumped with its tail to get further out of the water my kayak wobbled but my number one aim was to take a pic or two, although after a while I did try to reason with it that it was in danger of tipping me out.

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Rupert went on to make a fast getaway in order to escape the seal’s antics, but his increased speed only encouraged the seal more. The playful creature eventually gave up its pursuit as Rupert approached shore.

If the seal had tipped Rupert out of his boat it would probably have just given him another wide-eyed, cheeky look by way of apology.

I think I would have been able to forgive it.

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Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.