Cruel angler 'rides' a Mola Mola - needs to be named and shamed

[Hank49]

Personally, I think this mola mola appears distressed from the encounter.

No offense, but on what experience do you draw this conclusion?

Regarding manatees and other large animals in the sea that one might approach or touch, in most cases the person will get the bad end of the deal, not the animal.
Ever been in the water with a manatee? They could knock you silly with a flip of that tail. Whale shark? Large turtles? I personally would not try to grab, ride or even touch them. But looking at scars and wounds they seem to inflict on themselves and have inflicted on them by others, I seriously doubt a touch or contact with a human has any negative impact.
We do have a bad impact in the marine environment. Pollution, over fish etc. But when we're in the water we're the weak ones. The marine animals can pretty much kick our ass anytime.

 

[highdesert]

No offense, but on what experience do you draw this conclusion?

Personally, I think this mola mola appears distressed from the encounter.

See also the first line of my signature below.

 

[Zippsy]

Actually, I doubt it matters whether it was distressed or was happy. Either way, it is likely bad for the mola mola and divers. If it was stresssed, it's life may be shorthened and it would likely avoid divers - who behave properly underwater - in the future. If it was happy with the encounter, it may approach people in the future and those people may be hungrier or less benign than this redneck.