{"id":2187937,"date":"2025-08-12T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T05:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2187937"},"modified":"2025-08-12T06:32:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T05:32:51","slug":"nat-geo-photographer-paul-nicklen-reveals-he-was-almost-killed-by-horny-elephant-seal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/nat-geo-photographer-paul-nicklen-reveals-he-was-almost-killed-by-horny-elephant-seal\/","title":{"rendered":"Nat Geo Photographer Paul Nicklen Reveals He Was Almost Killed by Horny Elephant Seal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photographer Paul Nicklen is one of the most famous nature documentarians of the age, but he recently revealed how his career was nearly cut short.<\/p>\n

Sea Legacy, an ocean conservation co-founded by Nicklen and his wife Cristina Mittermeier, published a social media post recalling the time Nicklen was in South Georgia, Antarctica, in 2008 and was aiming to become the first person to film a breeding male elephant seal underwater.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese animals can weigh over 7,000 lbs and reach 20 feet long, similar to a pickup truck. During breeding season, they go into this kind of trance: breed or kill,\u201d writes Sea Legacy.<\/p>\n

However, when Nicklen entered the water, a rutting bull mistook him for a rival and charged at him \u2014 captured in a terrifying photo posted by Sea Legacy.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A post shared by SeaLegacy (@sealegacy)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n