Imagine looking straight into these jaws! They belong to a leopard seal, one of the top predators1 in the waters of the Antarctic. A leopard seal’s front teeth are sharp enough to tear apart its prey 2 in seconds. Usually, the seal hunts fish, squid, and penguins. Sometimes, according to some reports, it attacks people. The man behind the camera is wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen. Nicklen has spent much of his life exploring the Arctic. He is passionate about3 protecting polar regions and the animals that live there. He is especially interested in leopard seals. “Are they really so dangerous?” Nicklen wondered. The photographer decided to travel to the Antarctic to find out. Here is his story.
One day, I was standing on the boat when a very large female leopard seal swam by. I put on my diving gear and got my camera. I was frightened. My mouth was dry. At first, I couldn’t even move. But I knew it was time to get closer to this mysterious creature. I jumped into the freezing water. Immediately, the seal swam toward me. Then she put my entire camera— and much of my head—into her mouth. Thinking this must be a threat,4 I decided to stay very calm. “Was I going to be her next meal?” I wondered.
Although the seal was threatening me, I tried not to show any fear. After a few seconds, she let go of my head. She threatened me a few more times and swam away. Then she came back with a live penguin. The penguin was for me. Of course, I didn’t eat the penguin, and I think the seal was very disappointed. The seal thought I was just another large predator, I realized. The two most important things in a leopard seal’s life are eating and breeding.5 So perhaps this seal was worried about me—she didn’t want me to starve. She brought me several penguins. She even tried to show me how to eat them. The seal tried to push penguins into my camera—she thought the camera was my mouth! As a biologist, I understood that she was trying to feed me. But I think that she was really trying to communicate with me. By now, she didn’t seem very dangerous. She stayed by me and tried to feed me for four days. One time, she noticed another leopard seal come up behind me. She made a deep, threatening sound and scared the other seal away. She then took that seal’s penguin and gave it to me.
Those four days were the most incredible experience I ever had as a wildlife photographer. I got some amazing pictures. I also learned that animals do not always behave the way we expect. My relationship with this powerful and intelligent animal will stay with me forever.
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