Close calls with wild animals

Getting in touch with Mother Nature is important. Sometimes though, Mother Nature wants to get in touch with us. ‘When you look a wild animal in the eye, it’s like catching a glimpse into the soul of nature itself’, said Paul Oxton.

Being out in the wild, whether on safari or deep in the ocean, animals can sometimes get a little too close for comfort. Take a look at these incredible encounters:

 

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A few of our favourite lion pics over the years to celebrate World Lion Day at Tintswalo Safari Lodge 🐾🦁🐾 #worldlionday #lion #Kruger #Africa #Travel #Luxury #LuxuryTravel #Safari #LuxurySafari #LuxuryLodge #KrugerLodge #SouthAfrica #KrugerPark #Tourism #TintswaloSafari #KrugerTourism #TravelKruger #Wildlife #GameViewing #GameDrive #TintswaloWild #KrugerNationalPark #TintswaloBigFive #TintswaloSafariLodge #ProudlySouthAfrican #WhereElseInTheWorld

A post shared by Tintswalo Safari Lodge (@tintswalo_safari_lodge) on Aug 10, 2018 at 8:03am PDT

 

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One of the best feelings in the world. I’ve never taken my experiences in the wild for granted. Every single time that I’ve encountered a leopard, a lion, an elephant, I always took time to appreciate the moment. That said, the next time I set foot in a place like the Sabi Sands you bet I’ll take it in even more. Might get a little emotional, haha. Miss moments like this. Truly special! Soon this’ll all pass & I hope to see you all on one of our @wildeyesa safaris 😉. #ThisIsWhyWildEye @wildeyesa #sabisabi @sabisabireserve #leopard #photosafari #wildlifephotography #safari #southafrica #sabisands #krugerpark #natgeowild

A post shared by Marlon du Toit 🇿🇦 (@marlondutoit) on May 16, 2020 at 9:17pm PDT

 

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Close Encounters of the Elephant Kind! . . . #elephant #elephants #southafrica #africa #nambitihillsprivategamelodge #nambitihills #safari #gamedrive #closeencounters #closeanimalencounters #trunk #elephanttrunk #travelgeeza

A post shared by Gary Proctor 🌎✈ (@travelgeeza) on Feb 26, 2019 at 11:20pm PST

 

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Young male Cheetah on the hunt. He was successful later that afternoon and was able to take down an Impala! #cheetah #naturewildlifephotography #natgeo #natgeowild #natgeowildlife #instagram #wildlifeofinstagram #nature #wildlife #photography #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #photooftheday #safari

A post shared by Jason Joubert & Brittany Louw (@jaynbrit_in_africa) on May 15, 2020 at 1:40am PDT

 

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A roadblock in the bush is a little bit different to its city life counterpart. Video: @dan_on_a_reserve

A post shared by Getaway Magazine (@getawaymagazine) on May 12, 2020 at 9:02am PDT

 

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@edgar_pacific_photography: “Free Lunch” – a young orca shoots up to grab a stunned herring that is floating on the surface. Look carefully and you’ll see this orca grab the fish between his teeth. The orcas in northern Norway corral enormous schools of herring into bait balls so they can stun them with their tails before picking them off one by one. The bait ball had already moved on, but this young orca spotted a stray herring out in the open and saw an opportunity for a free lunch! . 🎥 By: @edgar_pacific_photography

A post shared by Whales Nation (@whalesnation) on May 17, 2020 at 11:48am PDT

 

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How beautiful is this⁉ 😍 A couple of #whales greeting a paddleboarder in Esperance, Western Australia. 🇦🇺 | Video by @jaimenhudson . 🐳 Tag a friend who’d love this!

A post shared by Whales Nation (@whalesnation) on May 3, 2020 at 12:13pm PDT

 

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Unbelievable encounter with humpback whales in Antarctica. 🐋 How would you react? | Video by: @zet.freiburghaus

A post shared by Whales Nation (@whalesnation) on Apr 29, 2020 at 12:06pm PDT

 

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Sound On! 🔊 A killer whale giving filmmaker @olly_scholey a very close inspection… 😮 Whose jealous? What would your reaction be? . 🎥 By: @mullettover / @olly_scholey . “This encounter is one of the luckiest I have ever had – seeing a killer whale in clear blue water in the open ocean is extremely rare. We didn’t really know how they were going to respond to us, and given they were transient / Biggs killer whales (the type that eat either large fish or marine mammals) we were a tad apprehensive about getting in the water with them..! After the pod had crashed past us at around 10-12kts, this youngster started to really interact with us – an experience I will never forget!! Turn the sound on to hear the beautiful vocalisations the orca was making.” . This work was performed under the authorisation no 15-ORAC-19 issued by the government on 07.06.19

A post shared by Whales Nation (@whalesnation) on Mar 2, 2020 at 9:21am PST

 

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The biggest girl of them all! 🎥 . 🎥📷 From to: @sharksdaily – — #sharkcagediving #sharky #sharkeisha #sharkfishing #sharknado #greatwhiteshark #sharkdiving #sharklife #sharkselfie #sharkattack #whiteshark #sharkweek2018 #sharkscove #sharkies #whaleshark #sharkclub #sharkcage #sharksquad #sharkbait #sharkdive

A post shared by sharkselfie.hi (@sharkselfie.hi) on Apr 8, 2020 at 2:08pm PDT

Image credit: Screenshot from video