A dazzle of zebras comes down to a waterhole for a drink, and a crocodile grabs one and refuses to let go. Will the zebra escape the crocodile’s death grip? This happened between Orpen Camp and Satara Camp in the Kruger National Park.
51-Year-old Project controls manager working at Phalaborwa Copper, Jantjie Bessenger, was fortunate enough to witness this moment with his son Jan-Hendrik and daughter Jannelize. Jantjie shared the story with LatestSightings.com:
“My family and I entered Phalaborwa gate in the morning to spend the day in the park. We enjoyed a day of sightings and laughs. Sadly, we missed 2 leopard sightings which my son had told us about – because we chose to ignore him. Later that day, upon our return, my son suggested we take a gravel road, thankfully this time we obeyed.”
“We approached a small waterhole where zebras were making their way down to drink. My son remarked that the crocodile in the waterhole would catch a zebra. We laughed at him, thinking the hippos would have chased the crocodile away by now (There weren’t even any hippos!). The zebras started to drink, and within 30 seconds a crocodile leapt out of the water and grabbed a zebra by the jaw.”
“A massive tussle entailed, and the crocodile pulled the zebra into the water. The zebra stood its ground and kept fighting back, eventually dragging the crocodile out of the water. Finally, the zebra managed to escape the crocodile’s death grip and ran off with its herd. Thankfully for the zebra, it got to live another day.”
“It was an amazing sighting, in every sense, and was very rare. In all my life, I still have not seen an actual kill in the park. This was the closest ever.”
“My advice would be to go out early morning or late afternoon, drive slowly, and observe general animal behavior. This will get you to see more than your usual day-to-day game. Enjoy the park, look at everything and appreciate wildlife at its full capacity!”
The Nile crocodile expressed pain because the opponent suddenly attacked and let the animal run away in the decisive moment.
Male tourist named Robert Ndawuasa Sayialel, 39, from Nairobi, Kenya (country in eastern Africa) accidentally captured impressive moments in the life-and-death battle between zebras and crocodiles in the river. Mara in Maasai Mara.
Mr. Robert said, while driving along the river, he spotted a herd of zebras gathering to prepare to cross the river. Below is a herd of ferocious Nile crocodiles waiting. The images were taken by him from a distance of only 18m.
It is known that hungry crocodiles, which are already lying in the river, waiting for the zebras to cross will seize the right opportunity to rush to defeat their prey.
In the herd, some of them made it to the river safely. But there are also unlucky members, becoming “delicious bait” of crocodiles. The image recorded by Mr. Robert shows a zebra falling into the range of the crocodile.
“But the animal did not give up. It tried to fight back in the moment of survival. The animal headbutts the opponent, then finds the opportunity to bite the crocodile’s throat until the enemy has to retreat on its own. “, said Robert.
For this tourist, this is the incredible moment when the zebra suddenly “turned the tide” in an unequal battle with the crocodile. Zebras are famous for their back kicks and powerful bites. Due to the sudden bite, the crocodile showed pain, creating an opportunity for the prey to flee to safety.
“This is probably one of the best wildlife photos I’ve ever taken. I feel honored to have captured this moment,” said Robert.
Nile crocodiles can reach a length of 5.5m, weigh 700kg and live to be a hundred years old. In addition to their huge size, they are considered as freshwater predators that cause “horror” by possessing sharp teeth and very strong bite force. Any prey that appears in their sights is almost inevitable death, even humans are no exception.
The main food of this species is fish, but they still eat vertebrates that go down to the river to drink water, except elephants and adult hippos. Zebras, young hippos, antelope or buffalo all fall prey to them.