A routine set off to the water hole recently resulted in a life-or-death battle for a couple of African elephants when they were bushwhacked by a hungry Nile crocodile (pictured).
This clash of the titans had a happy ending—except perhaps for the crocodile.
"The elephant managed to turn, but the croc was still hanging on," photographer Nyfeler said. "Then the little baby somehow stumbled over the croc, and the croc released the elephant.
"The croc went back into the water, and both elephants just ran away."
Tourist Martin Nyfeler of Kloten, Switzerland, captured pictures of the wild face-off during a visit to Zambia's South Luangwa National Park.
"We came across a mother elephant and baby at the water hole and said [to the guides], you know, what a cute picture, let's stop here," Nyfeler told National Geographic News.
"And suddenly the crocodile jumped out. The entirely event took maybe 15 seconds."
Although elephants are very strange prey for Nile crocodiles, the 20-foot-long (6-meter-long) reptiles will at times lurk and take down large animals—including dozens of citizenry annually, experts say.
"Even as [crocodiles] get bigger, most of their food will be fish or smaller creatures," said Jason Bell, assistant curator of reptiles and amphibians at the Philadelphia Zoo.
"But they are also an timeserving predator that will wait for something to come to the water's edge and drink," he said. "They've been known to take down young hippos or cape buffalo—that's a immense animal that they can pull into the water."
"We came across a mother elephant and baby at the water hole and said [to the guides], you know, what a cute picture, let's stop here," Nyfeler told National Geographic News.
"And suddenly the crocodile jumped out. The entirely event took maybe 15 seconds."
Although elephants are very strange prey for Nile crocodiles, the 20-foot-long (6-meter-long) reptiles will at times lurk and take down large animals—including dozens of citizenry annually, experts say.
"Even as [crocodiles] get bigger, most of their food will be fish or smaller creatures," said Jason Bell, assistant curator of reptiles and amphibians at the Philadelphia Zoo.
"But they are also an timeserving predator that will wait for something to come to the water's edge and drink," he said. "They've been known to take down young hippos or cape buffalo—that's a immense animal that they can pull into the water."
This clash of the titans had a happy ending—except perhaps for the crocodile.
"The elephant managed to turn, but the croc was still hanging on," photographer Nyfeler said. "Then the little baby somehow stumbled over the croc, and the croc released the elephant.
"The croc went back into the water, and both elephants just ran away."
