Divers in Kofiau – an island in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat – had a leisurely swim with a venomous banded sea snake.
"After waking up to manta rays surrounding the boat and swimming with them for over an hour, we went out to freedive the channel,” says freelance video journalist Nina Konstantin who shared her footage on Instagram. "That's where I met the snake.”
"It came up for air right in front of me, we swam together for a little while before it had gotten enough air to swim back down to the reef,” she says.
Sea snakes come to surface for air but they can hold their breath for up to half an hour.
The experienced divers were careful to give it plenty of space – as they are highly venomous. But Konstantin wasn’t worried. “They are venomous, but only if provoked or scared,” she says, adding that it’s important never to touch them or get too close.
Sometimes, the snakes even try to join the divers on the boat. “We've had them crawl onto our tender a few times, and I've heard stories of them climbing up boats anchor chains, which is wild.”
Images and video/Nina Konstantin, instagram.com/ninakonstantin
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