This Photographer Came Face To Face With A Deadly Predator And The Results Were Heartwarming

Author image for Ada Elder
Ada Elder
Jan 16, 2018 11:00 AM EST

Wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen was on assignment in Antarctica when he came across the area's most deadly predator - the aggressive leopard seal. While leopard seals generally reserve their bloodlust for their favorite food - penguins - they have been known to kill humans. Nicklen was well aware of this aggressive streak, and feared for his life. But what happened next was both shocking and absolutely heartwarming. 

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  • 01
    Whale shark - This is what happened when a photographer came face-to-face with one of Antarctica's most vicious predators. Oslipped into the water, terrified of what might happen, and I swam up to this leopard seal.. My legs were shaking, 0 had dry mouth...
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  • 02
    Marine mammal - And right away she drapped the penguin, She came up to me and she apened her mouth.. and her head is twice as wide asa grizzly bear's head, Just huge,
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  • 03
    Skin - She took my whole head and my camera inside her mouth and did this threat displays.. But then the most amazing thing happened..
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  • 04
    Marine mammal - She went off and got me a live penguin, and she came up and started to feed me a penguin.
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  • 05
    Marine biology - She kept letting these live penguins go and the penguin would shoot past me and she'd look disgusted as she'd go by me, She did this over and over...
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  • 06
    Adaptation - And then I think she realized thaf Iwas this useless predator in her ocean, probably going to starve fo death and I think she became quite panicked...
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  • 07
    Marine biology - She started to bring me weak penguins, then dead penguins, then she showed me how to eat penguins. She would offer me partially consumed penguins.
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  • 08
    Organism - She started to take penguins and actually push them into my camera. I think she thought the camera was my mouth, which is every photographer's dream. This went on for four days.
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  • 09
    Vertebrate - So, here I came to Antarctica, to photograph this potentially vicious animal, to have this predator, this top predator in Antarctica, take care of me, and nurture me, and feed me for four days straight.
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  • 10
    Adaptation - It was the most incredible experiencelve ever had as a National Geographic photographer WATERPROO
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photography animals wildlife
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