SoCal diver bons with affectionate white seal named ‘Waffles’

An affectionate white seal has captured hearts after becoming best buds with a Southern California diver.

Rusty Hunter, 24, and the friendly seal nicknamed Waffles regularly meet off the shores of Laguna Beach during Hunter’s dives. For the past six months, he has encountered Waffles about 10 times, according to the Orange County Register.

Marine mammals often show curiosity toward humans who venture into their territory. Each time Hunter meets with Waffles, the seal becomes more comfortable and playful — often tickling Hunter’s face with its snout and resting its head on him.

“It’s hard to deny there’s some sort of connection between a seal that acts like that, and it’s even harder to deny when you’re in the water with it,” Hunter told the Register.

“It’s almost like asking if you and your dog have a bond. There’s something there, I don’t know what degree the relationship is, I don’t know if we’ll ever know. It’s engaging and interacting.”

Hunter is a longtime skimboarder, surfer and an amateur photographer. He started bringing a camera on his aquatic adventures to record and post his dives. Meeting seals is common, he said, as they’re friendly and approachable.

“They are very curious, some are playful, some just want to see what you’re doing.”

Hunter guesses that the seal is a female based on its size and other features.

Other divers gave her the “Waffles” nickname, but Hunter has avoided calling her that.

“When you put a name on it, it takes away some of the mystery. I don’t have anything against the name itself, to me I let her be what she is, I guess,” he told the Register.

He’s also hesitant to post his videos of the seal on social media, not wanting people to start chasing the animals. But he does hope the images will remind people of the natural beauty around us.

“I really think in this day and age, it’s so easy to go on our phones and kind of just forget about the raw, natural outside world around us,” he said.

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