A family on holiday in Shetland have shared the incredible moment they came to be up close and personal with an orca pod on a seal hunt.
Alex Linklater, 53, his partner Emily and their children, were holidaying at peaceful Eshaness on the islands on Saturday, July 9, when they spotted the tell-tale fins passing in the water close to their cottage.
Quick thinking son Eric, 21, whipped out his camera to film as more of the pod began to appear.
Alex, who is from Edinburgh, explained that though he would sometimes see the impressive creatures from afar as a child while on the ferry to visit his granny in Orkney, he hadn't seen them this close before.
The dad of four explained: "I have never seen a full pod on the hunt like this. And never so close to the shore. It is hard to describe the thrill of those huge fins emerging from the water, circling, and then going in for the kill."
The moment was so shocking that little daughter Sula, 7, even burst into tears.
Adding that she was comforted by her mum, Alex said: "Sula’s reaction was what made the spectacle real. She felt the fear that nature designed her to feel when faced with huge predators.
"She cried instinctively, but this is a memory that will stay with her forever. She put it best herself: 'Seeing an Orca on your phone isn’t that scary, but if you see it in real life, it shows impossible things are actually possible'."
The family discovered that the pod was called the '27’s' after the number given to its matriarch by the Scottish Killer Whale ID Catalogue.
They now believe the matriarchs, both mother and grandmother, who protect and lead the pod, were training their young to hunt.
The family described the moment as "astounding", with Alex admitting they all felt a sense of awe. Emily was also able to catch a second video with two of the Orcas breaking off around the island in the bay, to trap their prey.
He added that the seal was then taken out of sight of the camera.
The family, which also includes other son, Hugh, 16, and youngest daughter Ida, 4, have since shared their videos on Alex's Twitter, and have received a huge response since posting them.
"It's really unexpected, to say the least," explained the stunned dad. "We've had nearly 900k views so far. And all overwhelmingly positive.
"Just a few seconds of these magnificent, fearsome creatures, combined with the reaction of a little girl, clearly taps into something deep in the human psyche.
"Mostly people just want to express their wonder. And many want to express their love of Shetland. The weather this summer has been pretty terrible, while the rest of the UK is bathed in sunlight, we’ve had haars, high winds and horizontal rain.
"But the combination of the Orcas and the world coming in to celebrate has made our holiday."
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