Paul Nicklen's Unbelievable Leopard Seal Encounter (VIDEO)

Last week, we posted an fabulous slideshow of National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen's polar bear photos. We just stumbled across this video of his amazing encounter with a leopard seal, a powerful creature with huge teeth that could have easily killed him.

Watch below to see his unbelievable story which he describes as the highlight of his career -- the leopard seal actually attempts to feed him penguins and take care of him for 4 DAYS.

Get HuffPost Green On Facebook and Twitter!

Comments

[ifitwereme]

02:29 AM on 11/20/2009

this and the guy who spoke Klingon to his kid are my top two ever stories here.

[BlackYowe]

01:22 AM on 11/20/2009

Thank you for that HuffPost that was very very interesting and exciting.

[blueskybigstar]

07:41 PM on 11/19/2009

Wow.

[williamemarks]

08:49 AM on 11/18/2009

I think the seal sensed that Paul wasn't eating the food prepared by the ship's cook, and felt empathy.

[BlackYowe]

01:21 AM on 11/20/2009

LOL

[anastomosis]

04:06 AM on 11/18/2009

Now there's a species that LOVES global warming.

[Jeb-Jeb]

09:37 PM on 11/17/2009

I think the seal was trying to feed the camera because it saw a demagnified (the lens is probably convex) image of itself in the lens. It first tried to save the baby-self (the initial aggressiveness) and then tried to feed the baby-self. It even showed a certain disgust to the photographer when he didn't assist.

[icewomancometh]

10:42 PM on 11/17/2009

sounds reasonable.

[lemondade]

08:44 PM on 11/17/2009

i just love this video. the beauty and intelligence of the leopard seal feeding the cameraman; how can anyone watch this video and not believe in God. the amazing creatures we are blessed to learn from and enjoy watching is indeed a gift from God.

[dzagama]

12:01 AM on 11/18/2009

Is anyone thinking of the poor penguins?

[BlackYowe]

01:23 AM on 11/20/2009

I did. Poor things! I am sure someone will eat the ones the seal killed tho.

[PeanutFreeMom]

08:31 AM on 11/18/2009

Obviously God HATES penguins.

...stupid penguins.

[kidolympic]

04:24 PM on 11/17/2009

He's actually trying to yell into the camera: why the ack can't we get Howard Stern down here!

[pixelslinger]

01:12 PM on 11/17/2009

So... how was the penguin? mmmmmm...... Penguin.......

[GreatNews27]

12:00 PM on 11/17/2009

Killitkillitkillitkillitkillitkillit!!!

Signed

The Japanese

[jubo]

11:58 AM on 11/17/2009

But... penguins are nice people...

[bartonfink]

11:54 AM on 11/17/2009

that was awe-inspiring! beautiful photography and HD no less. poor little penguins though

[me again]

07:12 PM on 11/17/2009

Agreed....great story, poor penguins!

[Terriac]

11:51 AM on 11/17/2009

What an absolutely incredible story. So glad I took the time to watch this video. Wonderful!

[lemondade]

11:06 AM on 11/17/2009

the video of the leopard seal made me want to cry for how incredible the creatures around us are and how lowly mankind compares to them.

[slinkymom]

11:13 AM on 11/17/2009

I know what you mean. We truly understand so little about the magnificent creatures that inhabit this world with us. We need to share this planet with them and maintain nature for all our sakes.

[Unhinged101]

11:52 AM on 11/17/2009

Mankind is not lowly. Although there are cruel people, there are equally compassionate people who love life in all it's forms and desire to care for and protect nature. My kids and I breed threatened snakes and release back to the wild. My 7 year old daughter loves wild tarantulas and desert millipedes and all 3 of my kids express an interest in biology. We just love being in the desert and exploring.

[woundedduck]

10:53 AM on 11/17/2009

Only one person has ever been killed by a leopard seal, and it's believed the human died because the seal "played" with him too much. He wasn't mauled, just held under too long.

[anastomosis]

03:52 AM on 11/18/2009

He was a she.

[MsVella]

06:49 PM on 11/19/2009

oh my, that still sounds horrid