A killer whale, or orca, narrowly missed out on catching a young seal off the coast of Patagonia.
An astonishing sequence of images showed the orca emerging from shallow icy waters towards the shore in an attempt to feed on the seal pup. Rob Lott , a photographer and conservationist, travelled to Patagonia to study and photograph the foraging behaviour of a pod of 18 orcas. "We spent a month watching this pod of 18 orcas near Ponte Note in Patagonia," he said. "Despite their numbers only seven of the Orcas have mastered the stranding behaviour where the orca enters the shallow surf to feed on seal pups. "On one occasion we spotted Mel, a 50 year-old who had previously been studied by David Attenborough in his "Trials of Life" documentary. We identified him due to his large two metre dorsal fin ad it was great to see him in action." Orcas are the largest member of the dolphin family. Growing to a length of up to 27 feet, adults weigh as much as 10 tons. They are known to be opportunistic feeders, preying on virtually any large marine animal. Aside from hunting in the waters, orcas are known to leave the water to grab seals and sea lions from the shore. "Seal pups are often born in January of each year and as they grow older they become more brave and courageous and head down towards the shallow surf," said Mr Lott. "Over the years the orcas have figured this out and it is not uncommon for the orcas to feed on the tiny seal pups. Mel is known to be an expert hunter and he will often take a seal from the shore before taking it back to the pod for feeding. "On this occasion, however, the pup got away, but it made for some spectacular images." Telegraph.co.uk
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