This is when a wild sea lion approached a teenager snorkeling with his father off the coast of Mexico and started cuddling him.

The amiable sea lion was approaching them as Ethan Becker, 15, and his father Chuck Becker, 47, were in shallow water.

As soon as Chuck realized the curious animal only wanted to play, he pulled out his underwater camera and started shooting.

In the Gulf of California, Ethan swam beside the sea lion while it examined him for around 30 seconds, even giving him a few hugs.

In the footage, which was taken on August 3, the sea lion can be seen playful biting a piece of the teen’s diving outfit before swimming around him once more.

After taking a breath of air, the animal comes to the surface and nibbles on the snorkeler’s flipper before going under the water again.

Ethan strokes the sea lion, which continues to somersault and maintain a careful eye on the young man.

The sea lion lingered around Ethan for a little while longer before swimming over to check out Chuck.

The animal looked at Chuck’s flippers, then swam away, leaving Ethan and Chuck speechless.

Ethan, who resides in Washington with his father, said it was a moment he would never forget and that he would dearly love to relive.

I’m not sure how to put it into words because I was just so completely taken aback, he said.

I almost forgot to put the snorkel in my mouth so I could breathe because I was feeling so happy at the time.

“With hindsight, I probably ought to have been more afraid of getting bitten. But I would absolutely dive there again if I ever had the chance.