Man befriends sea lion he found “all alone” while diving in viral clip

A movie of a diver’s experience with a “unhappy” sea lion found “all alone” in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez has long gone viral on TikTok.

The second was captured by TikTok consumer @scubadan_, a scuba diving teacher who movies sharks, in accordance to his TikTok profile. The clip so far has 1.6 million views.

A voice in the movie says: “I was diving and found a feminine sea lion all by yourself.” The footage showed the sea lion hovering at the bottom of the ocean.

In a caption shared with the video clip, the poster mentioned: “I have been #diving with the biggest colony of californian #sealions These sea lions are in mexico, on an island in the #seaofcortez This female #sealion appeared a tiny missing or sad, i started to participate in with her.”

Sea lions are marine mammals that rest and mate on sandy shorelines or rocky shores and head into the water to hunt or interesting off in heat temperature, according to the Intercontinental Fund for Animal Welfare, a global nonprofit.

Opposite to the seemingly lonely scene captured in the TikTok clip, sea lions are social creatures, congregating in groups of up to 1,500 persons, says the Ocean Portal, a web page of the Smithsonian Establishment. California sea lions kind groups of hundreds to 1000’s on shores for breeding.

Sea lions in the U.S. are guarded below the Maritime Mammal Defense Act. It was enacted in 1972 to protect against marine mammals from “declining over and above the issue where by they ceased to be sizeable operate features of the ecosystems of which they are a portion,” says the Nationwide Maritime Fisheries Assistance, a U.S. federal agency.

The act advises that people today really should preserve a distance of 150 feet (about 4 bus lengths) from all maritime mammals.

A voice in the TikTok movie states: “She [the sea lion] seems dropped or she’s been secluded by her colony.” As the camera attracts nearer to the marine mammal, the voice says: “Larger sea lions generally bully their smaller family.”

The sea lion is found swimming toward the camera right before it pans upward, as a note throughout the clip reads, “Hi Mrs. Arrive and see Scuba Dan.”

As the sea lion appears to briefly swim absent from the digicam, a subsequent be aware claims: “Aw you should not go, I am not listed here to hurt you.”

The sea lion returns afterwards and is viewed floating all around in the vicinity of the camera. In yet another message throughout the clip, the poster writes that sea lions are “properly developed to endure inside the water.” The poster included that the sea lion “can hold her breath for 20 minutes, almost as prolonged as me!”

The digicam continues to comply with the sea lion as she twists and turns via the water. Another information across the clip suggests: “Okay, she wants me to play. She will start out performing and hope me to duplicate.”

As the sea lion seems to flip herself about, one more take note reads, “Okay, I’ll do some flips (Scuba Dan is upside down)…haha, she’s loving it!”

A subsequent concept states, “Once you have their belief, sea lions are exceptionally playful.”

As the sea lion later on swims away from the digicam and vanishes into yet another element of the sea, a concept throughout the screen reads, “Are you seriously gonna leave me by itself below girl?”

The clip has delighted end users on TikTok. Person Spicyginger mentioned: “She was surely pleased the instant she saw you.”

Consumer hunterjardine420 wrote: “She was stoked to ultimately enjoy with another person. I wonder how very long she experienced been there.”

Pleasure Loos claimed: “When she commenced swimming over to you when you called her, it was so wonderful I nearly cried! reminds me of [The Little Mermaid film].”

Person @charly_andtigkitty mentioned: “You perked her up she observed her smile.”

Newsweek has contacted the authentic poster for comment via e mail and TikTok. This online video has not been independently verified.

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