In the days before Christmas, Gunnar Berg, 69, decided to go on a lunchtime walk along the canal in Åkersberga. When suddenly a brown backboard stuck out of the water.
– At first I didn’t understand what it was, he says.
But after a closer look it turned out to be a seal. Gunnar immediately picked up the camera and managed to capture the long-distance visit on film.
– I couldn’t believe my eyes, but it was very cool to see, he says.
The seal broke the rules
The seal had managed to swim a kilometer up the channel. Right now there is a fishing ban in the water until the turn of the year, while the sea trout migrate up the canal, but the seal didn’t care.
On the film, Gunnar captures the seal’s fishing luck.
– We joked that it will now come and destroy the sea trout stock, says Gunnar Berg.
Poaching usually results in fines or up to a year in prison – but the seal didn’t seem to care about the punishment or Gunnar, who was filming at the edge.
– It seemed completely unaffected by me and a woman who also saw the seal.
Critical on Facebook
For nearly two years, Gunnar Berg has lived in Åkersberga and never before has he seen a seal in the canal. He shared the video in the local Facebook group and it has already gone viral.
– I posted it the day before yesterday and it has received a lot of likes. Many people think it’s cool to see a seal so close.
Others are more critical and think that “one should think about why and take measures” if there are more seal visits. But whether the seal will celebrate Christmas in the canal or swim back out into the Baltic Sea is still unclear.
– It is difficult to say what path it took afterwards, says Gunnar Berg