Dozens of sea lions seeking to escape a pack of hunting killer whales in southern Chile threatened to engulf a small fishing boat, risking it being sunk with the 10-man crew on board.
Fisherman Antonio Zapata told Reuters that even though hunts by orcas are relatively common, he had never experienced anything similar.
While sympathetic to the plight of the sea lions, Zapata said his boat was already low in the water with a full haul of sardines.
They tried to approach a nearby island in the hope the sea lions could take refuge, but the whales blocked them from nearing the shore.
Eventually the boat limped towards Talcahuano port, near the city of Concepcion in Bio Bio province. The whales drifted away, leaving the surviving sea lions to swim for cover.
