A team of people in a small zodiac boat in the Antarctic Ocean found themselves surrounded by killer whales. The orcas were “spy hopping” all around the boat to get a better look at the humans, who were just as curious about the massive marine mammals as the massive marine mammals were about them.
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Richard Sidey was one of the team members on the zodiac boat, alongside a woman named Teodora, who was filming the incredible interaction. Sidey shared the footage on Instagram, and it went viral.
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“We were observing and filming this pod hunting seals on ice floes in the distance when suddenly [orcas] surfaced all around our zodiac, spy-hopping to check out the three of us onboard,” wrote Sidey in the post. “It was absolutely incredible and such a privilege to experience an encounter with these magnificent and intelligent beings in their natural habitat.”
Watch killer whales spy hop around a zodiac boat in Antarctica:
Header stock image by Riegsecker/Getty Images
