Orcas at sunset - Nuno Sá - Wildlife Photographer of the Year2008

2008: Animals in their Environment - Highly Commended

Nuno Sá Enlarge image Orcas at sunset

Nuno Sá (Portugal)

Orcas at sunset

'As soon as I dropped into the water off São Miguel Island, in the Azores, one of the males spun round and came straight at me, its six-metre body stiff, as though about to attack. We looked each other in the eye. But I didn't feel any aggression from the whale, just curiosity. The day after, the pod killed a fin whale.' Orcas, or killer whales, are top predators that hunt fish, birds and other marine mammals such as seals, other whales and dolphins. They hunt in pods made up of family members: mothers and offspring. Orcas are found in all the world's oceans, some confined to local areas where they hunt local fish, others cruising much larger distances and hunting what they find.

Canon EOS 20D + Canon 70-200mm f4 IS USM lens at 70mm; 1/80 sec at f13; ISO 200.

This photograph is available to buy as a print.