Nature / Seal captured on video being flipped into air as orcas put on show
STRIKING footage has emerged of a pod of orcas putting on a show in Shetland – with a seal seen being flipped into the air by a killer whale.
Lee Coutts captured the footage on Thursday morning at Sella Ness and said he was so close to the action that he was splashed by one of the orcas.
Numerous killer whales are seen breaching the water – and at one point a seal is flipped metres into the air.
Another orca is captured breaching the water just metres away from the camera.
Lee, who works at Sella Ness in the port admin building, said he and a group of colleagues went down for a look while in the middle of moving office.
“I couldn’t believe how close they were to the pier but saw that going onboard [Sullom Voe tug] Tystie would give a better view,” he said.
“I started taking some video footage in the hope that I would get some footage of the orcas as they passed by, but I couldn’t then believe the show that they put on.
“The whole thing was amazing, especially with how close they were to us. I actually got splashed a little when the largest orca came up out of the water.”
Lee said it was the closest he has been to orcas and added that it was an “enthralling” moment.
“Seeing their white belly as they skirt just below the surface and then actually breaking the surface was thrilling,” he said.
“When the seal got thrown felt almost like a heart-stopping moment as I just wasn’t sure what they would do next. It was all very enthralling but it also passed by so quick.”
Pods of orcas have regularly been seen in recent weeks around the shores of Shetland.
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