Two faces of the leopard seal: They may look cute on camera but smiling assassin has its animal side too

By Rob Cooper


Adorable: A leopard seal gazes into the camera with its prey - an Adelie penguin - above it

Gazing into the underwater camera, this leopard seal may look adorable but it is a ruthless predator that has an animal side too.

Moments after this image was captured, it snatches an Adelie penguin and gobbles it down in Antarctica.

The remarkable pictures are part of a new book being published by an award-winning cameraman who has captured footage in some of the world's most remote locations.

Swallowed: The predator snatches the penguin and gobbles it in Antarctica in images captured by wildlife photographer Doug Allan

Doug Allan has produced work for BBC wildlife series Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Life, Human Planet, Ocean Giants and Frozen Planet.

The cameraman has spent 35 years taking remarkable pictures in the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans.

Doug's book Freeze Frame is available from DougAllan.com for £25.


Cameraman: Doug Allan filming under sea ice in Lancaster Sound, Arctic Canada. He has been doing the job for the last 35 years


Natural world: Emperor penguins return to rookery from feeding at sea in Antarctica in Doug's new book Frozen In Time


Basking in the sunlight: Two walrus in Greenland perch on the ice


F-f-f-f-freezing: Cameraman Doug Allan filming an Emperor Penguin colony in Antarctica


Argument: Two young male Polar Bears go paw-to-paw as they brawl in Hudson Bay, Churchill, Canada


Preparing to take flight: A wandering albatross flaps its wings on Bird Island, South Georgia, Antarctica


Chilly: An Emperor Penguin leaps out of the sea and onto ice in Antarctica. The picture is one of thousands captured by Doug Allan during a 35-year career


Nap time: A harp seal pup slumps on the ice in St Lawrence Gulf, Canada


Perky and perkier: Two Adelie penguins - chick and parent - in Fish Island, Antarctic Peninsula


Emperor Penguins swim underwater in Antarctica


Deep sea dive: Emperor Penguins plunge deep into the cool waters of Antarctica in this remarkable image which captures life under the water


On edge: Doug Allan filming Beluga whales caught in an ice hole in Canada


C-c-c-c-chilly: Emperor Penguin males huddling together for warmth in minus 40 degrees centigrade in Antarctica


Ice age: Gentoo penguins stood on a giant iceberg in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica



source:dailymail