“Has He Ever Heard of Rabies?”: Cape Town Man Feeds Seal Mouth-to-Mouth as Mzansi Watch in Disbelief
- A Cape Town man known around Hout Bay harbour feeds a wild seal directly from his mouth, and people have reactions
- The City of Cape Town can jail any individual for up to a period ten years for feeding a protected seal without a permit
- Some Capetonians say Faanie knows every seal in the harbour by name, and those animals are his only means of survival
A Cape Town man has changed the definition of hand feeding, and the internet has completely lost its mind.
Source: Facebook
The man known as Faanie was filmed at Hout Bay harbour on 6 April 2026 doing the unthinkable. He leaned over the waterfront edge while a Cape fur seal launched out of the water. That seal took food straight from his mouth, not from his hand, from his actual mouth. Most people watching could not believe what they were seeing.
Faanie is a well-known local figure who has spent years around that harbour. He appeared completely at ease in the video, with no drama and no performance for the camera. Commenters who recognised him jumped in quickly to explain the situation to confused viewers.
“Those seals are literally his life”
A commenter going by the name Bradley Cape Town did not hold back at all. Bradley said he had personally seen Faanie’s living conditions and knew exactly what the man’s life looked like. He made it clear that without those seals, Faanie would simply have no way to survive. Bradley added that anyone leaving harsh comments had probably never visited Hout Bay harbour in their life.
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Bradley also pointed out something that stopped many people in their tracks online. He said if this kind of bond existed anywhere else on earth, film crews would already be there. National Geographic or the Discovery Channel would have made a full documentary about Faanie by now. According to Bradley, Faanie knows every single one of those seals by name.
The City of Cape Town sees the situation in a very different light altogether. Authorities have spent years fighting to stop seal feeding at Hout Bay harbour. Under the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act, feeding a Cape fur seal without a permit is a criminal offence. A first offence can cost someone a fine of up to R5 million. Repeat offenders face up to ten years in prison and fines of up to R10 million. The City’s Coastal By-law also hands out spot fines of up to R3,000 for simply getting within five metres of a seal.
Laws that bite harder than the seals
Faanie was allegedly arrested just before December last year for feeding the seals at the harbour. Bradley said that he was locked up while smash-and-grabbers, murderers and scammers continued walking the streets freely.
Watch the Facebook clip below:
Mzansi reacts to the moment
Briefly News compiled some comments from the post below.
Veronique Gordon commented:
“That is his pet. I was there recently, and the dude was feeding it.”
Jason Hill asked:
“Has he ever heard of Rabies?”
Ima Studio Design said:
“I’ve got photos of him feeding the seals from years ago. We also had a good laugh with him a couple of years back.”
Lorenzo Lello van Wyk noted:
“The DA doesn't like that because a coloured uncle tamed a seal. If it had been a white person, it would've been on Discovery or the National Geographic channel by now.”
Desiree Hemraj said:
"Are you serious? Those seals are cute from a distance but stink so bad."
Source: Facebook
More articles that involves feeding animals
- A dramatic video captured the moment a man nearly lost his hand after a caged lioness lunged at him during a feeding session.
- A group of university students touched the hearts of South Africans after using their allowance to feed the homeless.
- A hardworking female farmer has inspired Mzansi with the magnitude of her flock.
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Source: Briefly News
