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The Clever Reason Why A Seal Slaps Kayaker In Face With An Octopus

The Clever Reason Why A Seal Slaps Kayaker In Face With An Octopus

A scientist has revealed there was more to the video than what appears.

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

You've probably already seen the video of the guy who was slapped with an octopus by a seal, right?

Amazing, I'm sure you'll agree.

But while the kayaker, Kyle Mulinder, has said it was simply a case of his 'head being in the wrong place at the wrong time'.

One scientist has given a more detailed, more bizarre explanation.

According to Live Science, seals like to 'tenderise' their meat before they eat it and have been known to smash their prey into rocks and onto other hard surfaces to ensure that it's nicely soften before they chow down.

So, in this case, in lieu of a rock, the seal has used the kayaka (and Kyle's face) to do the job for him. Clever, eh?

Kyle was out kayaking off the coast of Kaikoura, on the South Island of New Zealand, when he found himself caught up in the middle of a seal/octopus fight.

Thankfully, the moment was caught on a GoPro by Taiyo Masuda and quickly spread across the internet after he shared it on Instagram, writing: "@barekiwi getting octopus smashed into his face by a seal⁉️ I've never had such an amazing kayak everrrrr!! I am super stoked that the new @goproanz #Hero7Black captured without missing a thing although we shook so much, #hypersmooth the stabilisation managed it so well!! I made a little montage to show how good the audio came out!! No noises super clean!! Thanks to @kaikourakayaks @purenewzealand @kaikouranz @goprojp @howtodadnz @snapair for such an epic trip!!"

Speaking to Yahoo7, Kyle said: "We were just sitting out in the middle of the ocean and then this huge male seal appeared with an octopus and he was thrashing him about for ages."

He then went on to say that the pair went underwater where they continued fighting, but moments later the seal reappeared, this time with the octopus in its mouth and, well, that's where it all went wrong for poor Kyle.

"He thrashed it in mid fight and my face happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," he added.

"I was like 'mate, what just happened?' It was weird because it happened so fast, but I could feel all the hard parts of the octopus on my face like 'dumdumdum'."

Instagram/Taiyo Masuda

The clip shows Kyle wincing as the creature connects with his face, before looking incredulous, which is fair enough, given the bizarre set of circumstances, I suppose.

He then gives out a bit of a shout while the other kayakers make a racket, seemingly because they can't believe what they've just seen.

Kyle added: "Its famous for its wildlife - albatross and seals and things like that... but that shit does not happen every day!"

Oh, and despite how it seemed from the clip, Kyle went on to say that the octopus was actually the winner of the fight. He said that once the scrap was over, the octopus clung to the kayak and could only be removed with the help of his instructor.

Featured Image Credit: Taiyo Masuda

Topics: Viral, Funny, Animals