THIS is one close encounter few would relish. One of Antarctica鈥檚 top predators, the leopard seal, is offering a penguin it has killed to wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen. Moments later, the 4-metre-long female engulfs Nicklen鈥檚 head and his camera in her mouth. 鈥淗er big incisors were on the top of my head and under my jaw,鈥� he recalls. Given the leopard seal鈥檚 reputation for aggression towards humans, what was Nicklen doing in the water, and how did he escape?
The story goes back to July 2003, when marine biologist Kirsty Brown was killed by a leopard seal while snorkelling off the British Antarctic Survey鈥檚 Rothera base. This was the first recorded episode of a leopard seal killing a human.
鈥淚 went to Antarctica to take photos of leopard seals because of Kirsty,鈥� explains Nicklen. 鈥淭he incident at Rothera was very sad. Kirsty was probably killed by a very hungry seal, but generally I believe these big predators are not out to get us.鈥�
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Leopard seals patrol the Antarctic pack ice and are much feared. In the water, they approach divers with their huge mouths wide open. But this, Nicklen believes, is a form of display, not of imminent attack 鈥� which may explain why he wasn鈥檛 harmed.
Kirsty Brown鈥檚 untimely death meant that the British Antarctic Survey researchers needed to know more about how seals interact with humans. From the records, the behaviour of the seal that attacked Brown looked like a one-off. Many divers had come across leopard seals in the water, but none had been attacked. Most attacks involved people standing at the edge of the ice.
Nicklen鈥檚 leopard seal photographs have won him first prize in the 鈥渘ature stories鈥� category of the World Press Photo awards. An exhibition of all the winners will start next month in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, then travel around the world. See .