The predator became the prey as the eagle – which normally dines on fish and small mammals – swooped in and snatched the young Nile crocodile, before soaring off with the reptile trapped in its sharp claws.
It’s behind you: The baby crocodile makes its way along the riverbank with a fish in its jaws – apparently unaware of the powerful eagle in pursuit
Mark Sheridan-Johnson, who captured the scene on the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, said it was the first time he had seen an eagle snatch a crocodile in his nine years as a safari guide.
Predator becomes the prey: The eagle swooped in, grasped the baby crocodile in its sharp claws and took flight
The fish eagle snatched the young Nile crocodile from a riverbank on the Selous Game Reserve in the south of Tanzania
Safari guide Mark Sheridan-Johnson initially thought the eagle had captured a fish, then realised it was a baby crocodile clenched in the bird’s sharp claws
African fish eagles – which have a wing span of up to 8ft – perch in trees and scan areas for potential prey – typically fish. The powerful birds then swoop in and snatch their prey, before returning to the perch to eat the catch