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| Seal spotted surfing humpback whale in Australia | Seal spotted surfing humpback whale in Australia |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| An Australian photographer has captured a rare moment of animal communion with a shot of a fur seal surfing a humpback whale off the New South Wales coast. | |
| Robyn Malcolm had been photographing a pod of whales on a feeding frenzy 500km (310 miles) south of Sydney. | Robyn Malcolm had been photographing a pod of whales on a feeding frenzy 500km (310 miles) south of Sydney. |
| But she only realised she had taken the unusual picture when she went through the photos later, she told the Sydney Morning Herald. | But she only realised she had taken the unusual picture when she went through the photos later, she told the Sydney Morning Herald. |
| Animal experts say that witnessing such a partnership is rare. | Animal experts say that witnessing such a partnership is rare. |
| New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife whale expert Geoff Ross told the paper the coupling was very rare but he had heard of it happening once before. | |
| "The only other time was a seal trying to get away from a killer whale... the seal hopped on the back of the pectoral fins of a humpback whale," he said. | |
| Ms Malcolm insisted that the photo was not doctored. | Ms Malcolm insisted that the photo was not doctored. |
| "I'm positive, because I don't know how to use Photoshop. And I do still have it on the camera so I can prove it," she told the newspaper. | "I'm positive, because I don't know how to use Photoshop. And I do still have it on the camera so I can prove it," she told the newspaper. |
| The meeting of seal and whale is the latest in a series of serendipitous animal piggyback rides which have been captured this year. | The meeting of seal and whale is the latest in a series of serendipitous animal piggyback rides which have been captured this year. |
| In March, amateur photographer Martin Le-May shot this picture of a weasel clinging on to the back of a woodpecker at Hornchurch Country Park in east London. | In March, amateur photographer Martin Le-May shot this picture of a weasel clinging on to the back of a woodpecker at Hornchurch Country Park in east London. |
| In June, a family walking in a forest in central Florida spotted this raccoon hitching a ride on the back of an alligator. | In June, a family walking in a forest in central Florida spotted this raccoon hitching a ride on the back of an alligator. |
| Mr Richard Jones told local television station WFTV that he "snapped a lucky picture right when the gator slipped into the water and before the raccoon jumped off and scurried away". | Mr Richard Jones told local television station WFTV that he "snapped a lucky picture right when the gator slipped into the water and before the raccoon jumped off and scurried away". |