A video of a penguin jumping onto a boat full of tourists after escaping a group of killer whales in the Gerlache Strait, Antarctica, has gone viral on social media.

The penguin is seen being relentlessly pursued by the mammals as a group of tourists on boats anxiously waited for the penguin to make its escape. Much to their surprise and amusement, the penguin jumped onto one of the boats after a failed first attempt, thus evading the killer whales. Travel blogger Matt Karsten (40) and his wife Anna (32) filmed the whole event. Matt was quoted as saying, "It was crazy to see in person. It was like watching a National Geographic episode on location. I imagine the penguin was very relieved to get away. They swam right up to the camera and said hello. Suddenly the orcas started chasing a gentoo penguin trying to eat it. Back and forth they went with the penguin swimming fast with the orcas on its trail. Eventually the poor penguin tried to jump into a nearby Zodiac boat. The penguin failed at first, falling back into the water, but then managed on the second attempt."

Matt also mentioned that the whales (orcas) followed the boat for a while and then gave up. Eventually, the penguin also jumped back into the water as soon as the coast was clear. "The orcas did follow the Zodiac boat for a while. They did give up in the end leaving the penguin safe with his new friends. After cruising for a little bit, the penguin said goodbye to the boat and hopped back into the icy water," Matt added.