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This is the incredible moment a seal was caught on camera surfing a humpback whale off the New South Wales coast, Australia.
Robyn Malcolm had been photographing a pod of whales on a feeding frenzy 500km (310 miles) south of Sydney, but didn’t actually see the rare event happen with her own eyes. It was only after flicking through her photos that she noticed the picture.
New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife whale expert Geoff Ross told The Sydney Morning Herald that such animal partnerships are 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.
And for the doubters out there, Malcolm insists that the photo was not Photoshopped, saying: “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.”
But this isn’t the first time we’ve brought you Disney-style animal friendships involving piggyback rides.
Remember this picture of a weasel clinging on to the back of a woodpecker in London, UK?
Or what about this raccoon hitching a ride on the back of an alligator in Florida?
Yup, it’s been a great year for animal friendships. Long may they continue!