Leopard vs Crocodile

The astonishing spectacle of a leopard savaging a crocodile has been captured for the first time on camera. A series of incredible pictures taken at a South African game reserve document the first known time that a leopard has taken on and defeated one of the fearsome reptiles. The photographs were taken by Hal Brindley, a wildlife photographer, who was supposed to be taking pictures of hippos from his car in the Kruger National Park.

The giant cat raced out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby. A terrible and bloody struggle ensued. Eventually, onlookers were amazed to see the leopard drag the crocodile from the water as the reptile fought back. With the crocodile snapping its powerful jaws furiously, the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile’s huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat. Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it. In the past, there have been reports of crocodiles killing leopards, but this is believed to the first time that the reverse scenario has been observed.

Mr Brindley said: ‘I asked many rangers in South Africa if they had ever heard of anything like this and they all said NO. ‘It just doesn’t make sense. The meat you get out of a crocodile is just not worth the risk it takes a predator to acquire. The whole scene happened in the course of about 5 minutes. Then the leopard was gone.

Source: http://uk.pinterest.com/duncanmoon/leopard-attacks-crocodile/

Lion takes on crocodile in war over hippo

THIS is the amazing moment a lion fought off the snapping jaws of a crocodile so it could feed on a dead hippo

The incredible battle was caught on camera by Richard Chew [CATERS/RICHARD CHEW]

The pictures were taken in the Maasi Mara nature reserve, in Kenya and show hungry lion braving a crocodile-infested river to get to an upside down hippo, which had died overnight of natural causes.

The incident was witnessed and captured on camera by Richard Chew, an IT manager from San Francisco, USA who was on holiday with his wife.

Semi- professional photographer Richard has travelled the world taking pictures but said it was a really unique moment.

He said: “It was such an amazing moment in wildlife and our Kenyan guide Abdul has never seen anything like it before.

The pictures were taken in the Maasi Mara nature reserve, in Kenya [CATERS/RICHARD CHEW]

The lion takes a mighty swing at the croc’s snapping jaws [CATERS/RICHARD CHEW]

The whole river was infested with crocodiles [CATERS/RICHARD CHEW ]

The lion defiantly snarls at the croc [CATERS/RICHARD CHEW]

“Two lions spotted the hippo at first but couldn’t reach it as they were on the wrong side of the river.

“The lions left in search of other prey and we went to explore a different area.” But when Richard returned to the same spot at the end of the day, the two lions had managed to get to the other side and were battling with 15 crocodiles for the free meal.

“The lions were really showing no fear. The river was full of crocodiles who were wanting a piece of the hippo but the lions were putting up a good fight.

“It was amazing to watch the wildlife food chain in action.”

Source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/466503/Battle-of-the-beasts-Incredible-moment-a-lion-takes-on-a-crocodile-in-war-over-a-hippo