Otter Jumps Onto Boat Escaping Orca With Seconds To Spare

August 7, 2020

This is the dramatic moment a genius otter being hunted by an orca hops onto a boat for safety with just seconds to spare.

In the incredible footage, captured in Halibut Cove, Alaska, the otter is first seen roughly 200 yards away from John Dornellas' boat, swimming frantically as the orca follows. As it reaches John's boat the otter swims around the outside, looking for a safe haven to climb onto as the orca closes in. Eventually, the otter jumps up onto the transom of John’s vessel moments before the orca arrives at the surface just feet away.

John, 37, revealed a game of cat-and-mouse followed, with the otter hopping back into the water in an attempt to get away, only for the orca to chase it back up again three or four times.

Eventually, once the orca had distanced itself from the boat, John, working with Coldwater Alaska, an exploration company providing boat trips in the area, headed for his next pickup in Halibut Cove Lagoon and when at a safe distance the otter plunged safely into the water.