Aggressive seal tries to steal shark from fishermen in Australia

A mischievous seal with a bad reputation was filmed trying to snag a shark away from anglers in Victoria, Australia.

Patrick Willmore was visiting family in the town of Port Fairy over Easter weekend and he decided to take his two children down to the waterfront to catch a glimpse of a local seal.

The sneaky marine mammal is known to hang around the town’s fish cleaning station in a clever attempt to score an easy meal from fishermen. The seal has actually become so troublesome that local authorities have issued warnings about the animal’s aggressive nature and advises the public not to feed him, The Standard reports.

And sure enough, when Willmore arrived near the shore, he soon spotted the seal attempting to grab a large mako shark being cleaned by two fishermen. The interaction was caught on camera.

“He was edging his way up the bank,” Willmore told The Standard. “The fisherman cut a fin off and threw it towards the seal, but he didn’t want a bar of it, he wanted the shark.”

Video of the encounter, posted to Willmore’s Facebook page on Saturday, shows the fishermen reacting as the seal attempts to steal their catch. The irate animal soon increases the tension even further by chasing after one of the men dragging the gutted shark away, eventually resulting in a standoff by the shore.

“He tried to shoo it away and it barked at him like a dog,” Willmore told the Australian news outlet.

But despite all the trouble, it seems like Willmore’s children seemed to appreciate watching the exciting encounter with local wildlife.

“They thought it was pretty cool,” Willmore said.