Seal Hops Aboard Boat to Avoid Hungry Killer Whales

Kirk Fraser captured the moment a seal saved itself by jumping on his boat.

ByABC News
August 24, 2016, 6:44 AM

— -- One lucky seal narrowly avoided feeding time for a pod of orcas by jumping aboard a boat off the coast of British Columbia.

Kirk Fraser was out whale watching with family when he captured an incredible moment on camera: a seal scrambling onto his boat to escape killer whales.

The seal jumped onto the boat and squeezed its way between the engines to avoid the jaws on the killer whales.

Fraser says they saw the seal's head pop up above the water and initially thought it was injured. "All of a sudden it is between the engines, with whales all around under the boat. Then the seal jumped on the boat. It was madness," he said.

The seal fell off two times but scrambled back on. Fraser said he was concerned the whales would bump the boat.

The orcas circled the boat for about 30 minutes, leaving everyone on board soaked from the spray from their blowholes. After they gave up and left the area, the seal hopped back in the water but kept "hanging around the boat, just in case," Fraser said.