Advertisement

Am I bothered? How a seal coped with one very nosey intruder

It’s one thing to get something stuck up your nose, it’s a whole other story when you’ve got nothing but a set of flippers to try and get it out.

A juvenile Hawaiian Monk Seal found itself in a spot of bother earlier this week when a sizeable eel became lodged in its nose.

“Mondays…it might not have been a good one for you but it had to have been better than an eel in your nose,” the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program captioned the bizarre photo this week.

While the poor animal didn’t appear too bothered by the nosey intruder, field researchers rushed to the scene to help dislodged the eel.

The removal process took less than a minute and while the seal was uninjured, the eel wasn’t so lucky.

Remarkably, it wasn’t the first time it’s happened either.

Do you mind? A juvenile Hawaiian Monk Seal with an eel up its nose. Image: Facebook / Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program
Do you mind? A juvenile Hawaiian Monk Seal with an eel up its nose. Image: Facebook / Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program

“We have now found juvenile seals with eels stuck in their noses on multiple occasions,” the organisation wrote.

It’s believed the eel likely entered the monk seal when it was feeding in coral reefs, as they feed by sticking their noses into the sand and start digging around, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

Once revealed the seal was in good health, social media users couldn’t help but poke a little fun at the “rebel” sea creature.

“First it was the cinnamon challenge, then tide pods, then the ice challenge, then snorting condoms, now snorting eels?” One person wrote.

“When you laugh so hard spaghetti shoots out your nose,” another wrote.

“Where are these young seals learning this eel sniffing stuff from? Video games?” One man asked.