The fish attempted to romance the man while he was exploring the waters near Honduras

Jul 25, 2014 13:57 GMT  ·  By

I am no professional diver, but I strongly suspect (yes, you are more than welcome to contradict me on this one) that, when exploring marine ecosystems, it's not exactly OK to make out with local wildlife.

Hence the fact that I was a bit intrigued when first setting eyes on this photo showing a diver romancing and being romanced back by a grouper fish.

According to Daily Mail, this little affair happened in the waters off the coast of Roatán, which is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands, and was caught on camera by photographer Cesare Naldi.

The same source tells us that the diver featured in it is named Maurilio Mirabella. Apparently, the man had absolutely no intention to get this close to a fish when he set out to explore these waters.

However, as he was swimming around, the fish appeared pretty much out of the blue, and came surprisingly close to him. It was so friendly that Maurilio could not help but hug it and give it a kiss.

“The fish was very friendly with the diver and even let him hug and kiss on the lips which was amazing to watch,” 36-year-old Cesare Naldi later said in a statement.

“I couldn't believe I managed to shoot such unique pictures,” the photographer and wildlife enthusiast went on to comment on Maurilio Mirabella's very close encounter with the grouper fish.