This sea lion had the luckiest escape of its life last week, and it was all captured by wildlife photographer Chase Dekker, 27.

Mr Dekker, who is also a marine biologist, took the photograph during a whale-watching boat trip off the coast of Monterey Bay, California.

He had noticed a group of humpback whales on a feeding frenzy, and as the animals were munching on anchovies, an unlucky sea lion failed to get out of the way in time and ended up inside the whale's mouth.

Fortunately for the sea lion, the whale never closed its jaws, and the animal managed to escape and swim away. "I was ecstatic because I captured a moment I may never see again," Mr Dekker told Agence France-Presse.