A wild grey seal has been filmed clapping its flippers underwater for the first time.

The underwater footage, filmed near the Farne Islands off the English coast, shows the male seal repeatedly clapping its flippers to create a loud gunshot-like noise.

The video is part of an international study led by Monash University in Australia.

Marine mammals, like whales and seals, usually communicate vocally using calls and whistles.

But the study has discovered that wild grey seals can also clap their flippers underwater during the breeding season.

It suggests this is a show of strength that warns off competitors and advertises to potential mates.

A young grey seal swims through the basin of a seal station in Germany | Image: Carsten Rehder/DPA/PA Images

Lead study author is Dr David Hocking from Monash University's School of Biological Sciences.

He says: "The discovery of 'clapping seals' might not seem that surprising, after all, they're famous for clapping in zoos and aquaria.

"But where zoo animals are often trained to clap for our entertainment - these grey seals are doing it in the wild of their own accord."

The research, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, is based on video footage collected by naturalist Dr Ben Burville - a visiting researcher with Newcastle University in the UK.

The footage - which took Dr Burville 17 years of diving to catch on film - shows a male grey seal clapping its paw-like flippers to produce a gunshot-like 'crack' sound.

"The clap was incredibly loud and at first I found it hard to believe what I had seen," Dr Burville says.

"How could a seal make such a loud clap underwater with no air to compress between its flippers?"

This is the first time a seal has been seen clapping completely underwater using its front flippers.

The loud high-frequency noise produced by clapping cuts through background noise - sending out a clear signal to any other seals in the area.

"Depending on the context, the claps may help to ward off competitors and/or attract potential mates," Dr Hocking says.

"Think of a chest-beating male gorilla, for example. Like seal claps, those chest beats carry two messages: I am strong, stay away; and I am strong, my genes are good."

Dr Hocking says clapping seals demonstrates just how much there still is to learn about the animals living around us.

Clapping appears to be an important social behaviour for grey seals, so anything that disturbed it could impact breeding success and survival for this species.

"Human noise pollution is known to interfere with other forms of marine mammal communication, including whale song.

"But if we do not know a behaviour exists, we cannot easily act to protect it", Dr Hocking adds.