Penguin jumps onto boat escaping orca (Video)

Mother nature took mercy on a cute, lovable penguin when the marine mammal narrowly escaped a lurking orca just feet away. A dinghy full of tourists saw the nature film of a lifetime, right in front of their eyes. The frightened animal was being pursuing by orcas in the Gerlache Strait, Antarctica, and could be seen repeatedly jumping out of the water as dinghies full of tourists watched.

The bird circled the tour boat and attempted repeatedly to leap out of the water to safety. The successful jump happened only after a first attempt had failed, when the small animal flung itself headfirst into the side of the boat and bounced back into the perilous water. Travel blogger Matt Karsten, 40, and his wife Anna, 32, were filming the penguin when it tried to jump into one of the boats. The animal then made a second attempt, this time landing on the side of the dinghy. Matt said: ‘It was crazy to see in person. It was like watching a National Geographic episode on location. I imagine the penguin was very relieved to get away.’

Travel blogger caught the moment on camera

The couple, who have visited more than 50 countries since 2010, had been heading out for a scenic Zodiac cruise between icebergs when they spotted the large pod of orcas in the water. Matt continued: ‘They swam right up to the camera and said hello. Suddenly the orcas started chasing a gentoo penguin trying to eat it.’ After the penguin jumped aboard, the boat immediately sped away from the spot. In the clip, one person can be heard saying ‘here comes the orca’, while another jokes: ‘Now the orca is going to jump in.’ Matt said: ‘The orcas did follow the Zodiac boat for a while. They did give up in the end leaving the penguin safe with his new friends.’ Watch the video, it was an incredible moment when the frightened penguin jumped onto the boat and escaped a orca seconds before being eaten.