A 7,000-pound rutting elephant seal came for Nicklen.
Photographer Paul Nicklen is one of the most famous nature documentarians of the age, but he recently revealed how his career was nearly cut short.
Sea Legacy, an ocean conservation co-founded by Nicklen and his wife Cristina Mittermeier, published a social media post recalling the time Nicklen was in South Georgia, Antarctica, in 2008 and was aiming to become the first person to film a breeding male elephant seal underwater.
“These animals can weigh over 7,000 lbs and reach 20 feet long, similar to a pickup truck. During breeding season, they go into this kind of trance: breed or kill,” writes Sea Legacy.
However, when Nicklen entered the water, a rutting bull mistook him for a rival and charged at him — captured in a terrifying photo posted by Sea Legacy.
“This was probably the closest our co-founder, Paul Nicklen, has ever come to dying in the wild,” Sea Legacy writes. “Mistaking him for a rival, the seal tried to crush him again and again. Paul thought, ‘So this is how it’s going to end’.”
Fortunately, Nicklen survived the encounter and has continued to document the ocean, spreading awareness about delicate marine ecosystems around the world.
He did unintentionally manage to capture an awesome photo of the encounter, essentially inside the angry elephant seal’s mouth.
“As a wildlife photographer, you must immerse yourself in the habitats and proximity of some pretty interesting, and sometimes dangerous animals,” Nicklen wrote of the encounter.
“Most of the time, the subjects are unaffected and uninterested by my presence and carry on with their natural behaviours. However, my encounter with a 7,000-pound elephant seal turned out to be a moment I wish I had foreseen.”
Nicklen explained that the above photo was actually an accident since he was fumbling around trying to get out of the water as quickly as possible when his camera fired.
“Luckily for me, I was still in shallow water near the shore when the seal came darting for me, and I managed to escape without injury,” he said.
“I had witnessed their aggressive behaviour earlier in the day in attempts to breed, and I should have known better. This was definitely an eye-opener and a valuable lesson in the dangers of pushing boundaries in the wild.”
Last month, PetaPixel spoke to both Nicklen and Mittermeier about National Geographic‘s 2024 nature documentary series, Photographer.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.