Area Kayaker Has Rare Encounter with a Seal [Video]

Wildlife encounters in the Capital Region happen with enough regularity that deeming them  'rare' might seem like a bit of an overstatement.  But with that being said, running into a moose, bear or bobcat isn't something that many of us in the area can claim.  Imagine kayaking or swimming in the Hudson River and seeing a seal jump playfully out of the water.  That's exactly what happened recently to a Greene County man who captured his chance meeting with a seal recently, and the video is pure joy.

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According to News 10 ABC's Anya Tucker, a travel photographer named Derek Brown says he was out on his kayak, paddling along near his home in the Village of Athens when he spotted something that jumped out of the water of the Hudson River to greet him.

Clearly wanting to get noticed, Brown told News 10 ABC that he was fortunate to have his cell phone handy to oblige the happy critter starving for attention telling the news station, " I got lucky enough to catch video of.  It just kept on interacting with me and swam around the boat and under the boat. The second time it jumped out of the water it looked back at me to make sure I was watching."

While it's rare to spot a seal in the Hudson River, according to News 10 ABC, in 2015 a seal was spotted in Halfmoon while trapped in a lock and returned to the ocean.

Check out the story and video below from News 10 ABC: