During my voyages there were several situations I could have come across the whales. But that did not happen. I longed for a meeting with these powerful predators, because they are unique in many aspects. First of all, they are very intelligent mammals and the largest marine predators. Groups of whales can very effectively hunt seals using their own hunting techniques. I have not seen this in Antarctica, but they are known to such a sophisticated behavior that a few individuals at a time can synchronously swim very quickly to an ice floe where they spotted any resting seal in order to dive suddenly in front of the seal. By this they make so big wave that it either breaks the ice, and takes the safe space from the seal or simply wipes the seal off the ice directly into the jaws of the whales. While hunting in the coastal waters they can also swim sideways to hide their huge dorsal fin and take advantage of the surprise. While hunting young whales, members of the herd of killer whales one by one hold the young mammal under water. After a few hours of such a synchronized attack the young whale dies from exhaustion or simply suffocates under water. They are huge and majestic. They can weigh up to 9 tons, so much more than an adult African elephant (up to 6 tons) and body length can reach 10 meters. They can swim at a speed of 60 km/h. They can be found across the globe, but more often in the cold coastal waters. So when during the voyage to Antarctica from the onboard radio broadcasting I could heard a message that killer whales were seen on the right side of the ship, there was no time to think about but started a photo session with the orcas. This was my first and last opportunity to encounter them during the voyage. They were about 10, and what was the best of all, for a moment swam a few meters from the ship. It is hard to show all the beauty of these mammals properly, because to capture the entire body I should have dive and swim together with them to take underwater pictures. But I have enough pictures of this unique, top predator to publish them in my photo gallery.
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