Orphan raccoon pups "adopt" human - and will melt your heart

The following scenes show what happened when Australian photographer Dominyk Lever took a break from fishing on Apple Creek, Ohio, and was mistaken for a giant raccoon by three super-cute and - probably - orphaned puppies. Watch below:

According to Lori Dorn of Laughing Squid, Lever was good at fishing when the trio showed up, started following him and scaling his leg. Then, as you saw in the video above, released by the folks at National Geographic, it wasn't long before the raccoons came up to his shoulders and covered him with licks!

According to Lori, at first the Australian thought the mother of the pets might be around, but after searching the area, she was not found. According to the video, the puppies are suspected to have become interested in Lever because of his beard - and associated his appearance with that of a giant raccoon.

On safari in Ohio and making some new friends. Three baby raccoons decided to join me for a spot of fishing while their mother slept somewhere close by. Over 20 years guiding in Africa and I can honestly say this is one of the most amazing wildlife experiences I've had. #cuteanimals #cuteanimal #babyanimals #babyraccoon #babyraccoons

A post shared by zoOm photo safaris (@zoomphotosafaris) on Jun 5, 2017 at 9:41 PDT

As it is not recommended that raccoons be kept as pets - and considering that Lever would have trouble bringing the trio to Australia - the puppies had to be left behind. But don't worry about the animals, because, according to National Geographic, another fisherman showed up, fed the animals fish and built a cottage for the brothers.

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