Video of pelican and seal climbing on boat
Executive summary
A widely circulated clip showing a large pelican landing on a small boat and, shortly after, a seal hauling itself aboard was shot in Walvis Bay, Namibia on October 26, 2024 according to the uploader and Newsflare hosting the footage [1]. Comparable viral clips historically show seals boarding vessels either to escape predators such as orcas or out of curiosity, making both escape and playful-interaction readings plausible [2] [3] [4].
1. What the clip actually shows and where it came from
The primary source for the specific pelican-and-seal clip is Newsflare, which hosts user-generated video content and lists the incident as occurring on October 26, 2024 in Walvis Bay, Namibia; the site’s caption describes a large pelican landing on the vessel and a seal following shortly afterward [1]. Newsflare’s platform framing makes clear this is commercially uploaded footage and carries licensing and usage caveats, indicating the video is presented as a piece of user-shot content rather than a professional wildlife documentary [1].
2. Similar documented behaviors put the scene in context
Seals boarding boats is a behavior with precedent in multiple documented incidents: a harbor seal reportedly climbed aboard a rented boat off Camano Island, Washington while fleeing a pod of orcas, which was reported by the Washington Post as an instance of predator-escape behavior [2]. An earlier viral example from 2016 shows a seal repeatedly leaping onto a family boat off Vancouver Island and later swimming away after orcas abandoned pursuit, demonstrating how these interactions can be survival maneuvers rather than play [3].
3. Alternative reading: curiosity and social interaction
Not all seal-boat encounters are predator-driven; some are described as playful or curious, especially in young animals: the BBC covered an incident of a seal pup clambering aboard a rowboat in Devon in an apparent spontaneous, curious approach rather than flight [4]. The pelican’s presence in the Namibia clip complicates interpretation further, because seabirds sometimes land on boats opportunistically and their behavior can be entirely independent of the seal’s motives [1].
4. Assessing authenticity and what the footage does and does not prove
The Newsflare listing identifies the footage as user-generated and subject to licensing restrictions, but the platform’s description alone does not include an independent verification of context or a forensic authenticity statement, so definitive claims about the seal’s intent or whether the sequence was staged cannot be made from that listing alone [1]. Broader reporting on similar events provides plausible explanations—escape from predators or curiosity—but none of the provided sources confirm that those specific motives drove the Walvis Bay encounter, so any attribution beyond “seal climbed aboard” would be conjectural [1] [2] [3] [4].
5. Why the clip resonates and what to watch for next
The clip taps into familiar narratives—wildlife outsmarting humans, interspecies odd-couple moments, or dramatic survival gambits—because other verified cases show seals using boats as temporary refuges from orcas or as objects of curiosity and play [2] [3] [4]. For those seeking confirmation or deeper context, the appropriate next steps are checking for corroborating footage, eyewitness interviews, or statements from local wildlife authorities in Walvis Bay; the hosting platform’s licensing note is a reminder that user videos often lack that complementary reporting unless amplified by mainstream outlets [1].