Baby's first swim: Mother harp seal coaxes her fluffy two-week-old pup into the icy waters of the Arctic

CANADA -- This is the adorable moment a baby harp seal braved the icy water as it went swimming for the very first time.

The fluffy two-week-old harp seal looked initially reluctant to get in as it tentatively waited on the ice as its mother swam in the icy waters below.

Minutes later the pup cautiously tested the water by dipping it's head below the surface before it totally submerged itself following encouragement from its mother.

The mother seal can then be seen gently guiding the pup in the icy waters before rewarding her brave pup with an affectionate nudge on the nose.

Baby harp seals are taught to swim at a very young age as there's a risk the ice could break at any time.

Photographers Jennifer Hayes and David Doubilet captured the pups big dip in the Gulf of St Laurence, near Magdalen Island in Canada.

The couple spent 10 days photographing the seals and even braved the freezing waters themselves to capture the magic moments.

 

Ms Hayes said she was even bitten by a seal in her pursuit as she patiently waited to capture the maiden plunge.

Harp seals nurse their pups for 12 to 15 days after giving birth, then abandon them so their young learn how to eat, swim and fend for themselves.

Ms Hayes said: 'It's a tough beginning in a tough environment.' 

Ms Hayes said on the last day of her expedition, she and her partner entered the water themselves. It was then that they spotted the pup taking its very first swim.

She said: 'I found a baby harp seal on the edge of the ice floe looking for its mother. The mother swept past me in a fury of fur and coaxed the white pup into the water a few feet in front of me. I kicked along with the mother and pup as they swam for the safety of another ice floe.

'The curious pup would try to swim toward me and the mother used her flipper to physically hold it back. As we moved through the ice, the pup and I became closer and closer.'

In the end, Ms Hayes couldn't have asked for a closer encounter.

She said: 'We stopped and the pup climbed onto me to rest. I floated on my back as the pup sprawled heavily on my chest, and its face nuzzled my mask.'

(Daily Mail - Jan 2, 2015)