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Cute Underwater Sea Creatures (Your Vote Is Needed)

Cute Underwater Sea Creatures - Your Vote Is Requested Please

What is the cutest animal in the ocean?

I’ve been sharing a number of underwater photographs from Pinterest. It occurred to me that there are many cute underwater sea creatures. But also there are underwater animals that aren’t necessarily cute, but that do cute things.

Cute underwater sea creatures include sea turtles, manatees, clown fish (Nemo), seahorses, dolphins, seals, sea lions and sea otters. But perhaps eels and even maybe sharks can be cute on occasion. See what you think and please vote by commenting below.

For me I saved the best till last…at the end of the article is a video of a VERY friendly puffer fish in Oahu Hawaii.

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What is the cutest animal in the ocean?

Let’s begin with what I consider to be one of the cutest underwater sea creatures, the sea turtle. After all this is what sparked this article in the first place, see the one with kissing turtles below.

Sea turtles are one of the cutest underwater sea creatures alive

Sea turtles are one of the cutest underwater sea creatures alive

Two sea turtles kissing underwater!

Two cute kissing turtles

This image from Pinterest, which I shared on Scuba Diving Earth Facebook got one of my biggest positive reactions. In fact this was the inspiration for this post about cute sea creatures.

I obviously agree with my Facebook audience that this image of kissing turtles probably takes the prize for the number one cutest animal in the ocean photo.

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Even though sea turtles are reptiles, which are cold blooded creatures. And even though reptiles are not generally accepted as being cute because of their lack of fur, I would argue that sea turtles should be on the list of cute underwater sea creatures.

I love it when I find turtles when scuba diving. They are always a lovely site to see.

Please give your vote below with a comment.

Manatees are such cute underwater sea creatures

Manatees have to be on my list of favourite underwater creatures to see on a dive or when snorkeling. Known as underwater sea-cows you could say that these slow-moving sea creatures look ugly. But I would argue that ugly can be cute.

I think the same about the rhinoceros. Call me mad but I think rhinos are cute, especially baby rhinos. Perhaps this is why I think manatees and dugongs are cute too.

What about this pair of cuddling manatees – definitely cute!

Manatees in Florida and the Caribbean, or dugongs in Australia, have to be on the list of cute animals of the oceans.

Cute cuddling manatees
Cute cuddling manatees – Image courtesy of Pinterest

Especially this underwater photo of a pair of cuddling manatees above. They are one of the gentlest of sea creatures you’ll find. They are very shy and not fully appreciated.

Please give your vote below with a comment.

What about eels as cute underwater sea creatures

What about eels, can they be cute underwater sea creatures?

Most wouldn’t put eels at the top of the list of cute underwater animals. But then I found this image on Pinterest, what do you think?

Group of moray eels – cute or not cute?

Cute family of eels
Cute family of eels – image courtesy of Pinterest

You possibly have to agree that these moray eels sharing a home altogether in this way are cute. Or once more is this just me?

Please give your vote below with a comment.

Nemo or clown fish have to be top of the cute animal list

Nemo or clown fish have to be top of the cute animal list

I don’t think anyone can argue about how cute clown fish are. As we all know clown fish were made famous and even more popular when Disney characterised this cute little fish in the epic cartoon film Finding Nemo.

Disney anthropomorphasized the clown fish and undoubtedly made Nemo the cute character of the film.

But look once more, an eel appears in a cute image, not something even I would have expected. This one is when a clown fish is saying hello to a garden eel.

Cute clown fish meets a cute garden eel

Cute clownfish meets garden eel on cute underwater animals

You have to admit that these two small sea creatures saying ‘hello’ to each other is pretty cute!

This has to be a good contender at least!

Clown fish are even cute when they are being aggressive. They will defend their patch of sea anemone with their life. Even against a scuba diver. If you go near to a clown fish, it will ‘charge’ you to ward you away.

Clown fish are not dangerous underwater sea creatures, not to scuba divers anyway.

Please give your vote below with a comment.

How to spot a seahorse

Seahorses are without doubt cute sea creatures

I don’t think that anyone can dispute the fact that seahorse are one of the cutest underwater sea creatures on the planet. Or am I just biased because I love to scuba dive with seahorses?

Seahorse close-up – a very cute underwater animal!

Seahorse close-up - a very cute underwater animal

This image is of a lone seahorse, as he doesn’t need to be kissing nor cuddling to be cute.

Seahorses are unusual creatures because unlike nearly all other animals on the planet, the male seahorse carries the young in a special pouch.

Please give your vote below with a comment.

Can sharks be cute animals

Can sharks be cute animals?

I may be pushing my luck with this next underwater sea creature. Sharks are probably the last on anyone’s list of cute underwater sea creatures.

Are cuddling sharks cute animals of the oceans?

Are cuddling sharks cute animals of the oceans

But what about this image above where it looks like sharks are cuddling?

Okay perhaps not, but I couldn’t resist sharing this image and adding it to my list of cute underwater sea creatures. But the next animal is definately cute!

Please give your vote below with a comment.

Dolphins have to be on the list of cute underwater sea creatures

Dolphins are probably my favourite underwater sea creature. They are intelligent, they are fun and best of all inquisitive.

Not only that, I would argue they are also cute sea creatures too. I think it’s their up-turned mouth which makes it look like they’re smiling all the time.

Whilst I know dolphins can also be quite aggressive creatures, certainly male dolphins to other males and sometimes to females or even to young dolphins, but they are still cute in my book.

The other aspect I love about dolphins is how there are many stories about how these wonderful creatures come to the rescue of other sea creatures, but also to humans too. They’ve been known to ward-off sharks from stranded divers or swimmers.

Please give your vote below with a comment.

Seals are definitely on my list of cute animals of the oceans

Seals are definitely on my list of cute animals of the oceans

I couldn’t do a list of the cutest animals in the ocean and leave seals from the list. I love scuba diving with seals and one of my favourite dive sites is The Farne Islands in the UK.

They are probably one of my favourite animals to find when I’m scuba diving. This is because they love to play and interact with scuba divers.

If you’ve never scuba dived with seals before, I definitely recommend it. However, they are generally in colder waters. So you will either need a semi-drysuit or even better a drysuit to enjoy the dive.

Watch this video of Ben with seals in the Farne Islands. I think you’ll agree they are cute sea creatures.

Farne Island seals 2nd Oct 2010
The first part highlights some seal interaction between adolescent seals with one boisterous young bull letting me know that “he’s the boss” down there with a close up display of some impressive teeth!

First-time open water dive and it happened to be with seals

Story of a first open water dive. Going back a few years, I took a lady on her very first open water dive. It happened to be on a trip that I’d organised to the Farne Islands.

This was her first time in the sea using scuba diving equipment. I was guiding her along on this first dive, when we came across a sleeping female seal. I indicated that we approach slowly and carefully, and as we did she opened her very large eyes.

She allowed us to continue our slow approach. She then let us both stroke her. At one point she was nibbling on my bare fingers with her mouth. Just like a dog would.

This for me was a very memorably experience, but for her it was even more amazing, as this was her very first dive…EVER!

Please give your vote below with a comment.

Sea lions are also cute underwater sea creatures

I can’t mention seals without including sea lions too. Sea lions are intelligent creatures, which is why they have been included in shows at sea life centres like dolphins and killer whales.

But when you see them in the wild it’s so much better than when you see them in a show.

Please give your vote below with a comment.

Sea otters are another very cute sea creatures

Sea otters are another very cute sea creature

On my visit to northern California I was fortunate to see many sea otters at Monterrey. This area of California from San Francisco down along the coastal route is simply stunning.

That’s for divers and non-divers alike. My wife isn’t a diver and she loved this trip we did for my 50th birthday. My main purpose for the trip, other than to enjoy the sights of California, was to see blue whales. These magnificent creatures aren’t what I’d call cute, but fabulous animals non-the-less.

Going back to see otters, I love the way they float on their backs in the water. A bit like the photo above…very cute!

Please give your vote below with a comment.

And now this has got to be the cutest thing ever. I already love puffer fish, but this little guy in Oahu in Hawaii is so adorable (ok yes I am a big softy! I may be 6’6″ or 2 metres, but I wear my heart on my sleeve).

So here’s my favourite cute underwater sea creature.

Puffer Fish in Hawaii – I want to see him!

Unbelievable – First Time Scuba Diving in Hawaii with an Oahu Cute Friendly Puffer Fish
Skip ahead to 02:00 to see this inquisitive puffer fish interact with a diver. To our surprise, this puffer fish seemed to want a little massage, there was no food or trickery. Just a once of a lifetime encounter that surely won’t happen again.

It’s rare to find wild creatures that want to interact with humans. But when you find one and they do interact, it’s extremely special. Like the seal with Ben in the Farne Islands above.

I remember having a very close encounter with a Napoleon wrasse in the Red Sea. Napoleon wrasse tend to be very friendly with scuba divers. Sometimes because they are fed by the dive guides, but not necessarily.

But to see a puffer fish interact like in the video above is extremely rare. The video is even named ‘First time scuba diving in Hawaii’ too. I’m not sure if that means it’s their first dive ever, or their first dive in Hawaii.

If it’s their first dive ever, then amazing. But even if they’ve dived before and this was their first dive in Hawaii, this interaction is still special.

As described above, this happened to me in the Farne Islands with a seal, and with a lady on her very first open water dive! I will always cherish that moment with a wild sea creature, that happened to be cute also.

I hope you enjoyed this article about cute underwater sea creatures

I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!

If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or types of scuba diving (or specifically about cute underwater sea creatures), please comment below with your questions.

There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.

Have fun and be safe!

Cute Underwater Sea Creatures (Your Vote Is Needed)

Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.

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