Kevin Lane was fishing in the River Lee in Cork, Ireland, when he realized he wasn’t the only one out to catch salmon. He watched a determined seal climbing resolutely up a steep weir.

The seal appeared to use the strength of his front flippers to pull himself up the weir, cleverly making use of a section of the weir with less water flowing down it. The seal’s efforts paid off as he reached the top and swiftly continued on his way in search of a meal.

Sightings of seals in rivers are becoming more infrequent in Ireland, as reported by the Irish Times in July 2018. According to the report, the seals seen in Irish harbors and rivers, called common seals, are more rare than the grey seals that can be spotted in open water. Credit: Kevin Lane via Storyful