Penguin: 1. Killer whale: 0.
Matt Karsten, 40, and his wife Anna, 32, captured harrowing images of a Gentoo penguin narrowly escaping the jaws of some hungry killer whales in Antarctica.
The Karstens were watching whales aboard a boat in the Gerlache Strait, near the tip of Antarctica, when they spotted a penguin running alongside their ship – followed by a group of killer whales just behind.
For several nail-biting minutes, tourists watched as the penguin struggled to overcome some of the ocean’s fiercest predators, which feed on non-flying birds, fish, seals and even sharks.
But only when anxious passengers were sure that the penguin was finished, does it emerge from the water in a jump towards the boat and eventually aided on board in a successful escape from the orca – and a once in a lifetime experience for Travelers.
“It was crazy to see in person. It was like watching an episode of National Geographic on the spot, ”Karsten, a travel writer based in Yucatan, Mexico, told the Kennedy News Agency. “I imagine that the penguin was very relieved to flee.”
Antarctic travelers were roaming the icebergs when they first noticed the group of killer whales “playing in the water next to us” that Karsten started filming.
“They swam over to the camera and said hello,” he added. But their interest in his camera quickly ceased when they started chasing the Gentoo penguin.
“They came and went with the penguin swimming fast with the orcas on its trail. Eventually, the poor penguin tried to jump on a nearby zodiac boat, ”he said, referring to the boat.
The penguin’s second attempt to land on the boat was a success, although the whales were under pressure to give up immediately.
“The orcas followed the zodiac boat for a while,” said Karsten. “After sailing for a while, the penguin said goodbye to the boat and jumped back into the icy water,” he told Kennedy News.