Sea Lion King Penguin Kill
I recently got back from a trip to the Falklands let by Scott Portelli. I can't recommend him enough. Easy going, helpful and extremely talented. The sea lion pictured here had been terrorizing the King Penguins at Volunteer Beach to the great concern of the Falklanders, to say nothing of the penguins. It was taking maybe two King Penguins a day from the only sizable colony in the Falklands. It was a longshot but I first spent an hour following the sea lion up and down the coast before a break for lunch. I was soon out on the beach again, following the culprit back and forth, back and forth for hours. He was cruising the surf, sticking his head up looking for prey every minute or so. I expected him to attack in the shallows. Instead, he spotted a King high up on the beach and the race was on. He swam, I ran and the penguin fled for its life. It was no contest. At least the kill was instant, the lion grabbing it as shown here, by the neck. High emotions on my end.
Sea Lion King Penguin Kill
I recently got back from a trip to the Falklands let by Scott Portelli. I can't recommend him enough. Easy going, helpful and extremely talented. The sea lion pictured here had been terrorizing the King Penguins at Volunteer Beach to the great concern of the Falklanders, to say nothing of the penguins. It was taking maybe two King Penguins a day from the only sizable colony in the Falklands. It was a longshot but I first spent an hour following the sea lion up and down the coast before a break for lunch. I was soon out on the beach again, following the culprit back and forth, back and forth for hours. He was cruising the surf, sticking his head up looking for prey every minute or so. I expected him to attack in the shallows. Instead, he spotted a King high up on the beach and the race was on. He swam, I ran and the penguin fled for its life. It was no contest. At least the kill was instant, the lion grabbing it as shown here, by the neck. High emotions on my end.