A snake eel has recreated the iconic chestburster scene from Alien by burrowing out of the stomach of a heron and bursting through its throat mid-air.
A snake eel burrowed out of a heron and burst through its stomach while the bird was in flight in incredible snaps taken by an amateur photographer
Sam Davis, 58, was taking photos of wildlife at a nature reserve in Maryland, US, when he saw the unusual sight of the eel emerging
The engineer and keen nature snapper saw the heron capture and gobble up the eel and start to fly off
The extraordinary sight was reminiscnt of the iconic chestburster scene in Ridley Scott’s film Alien
When eaten alive by predators, they can perform a gruesome escape by using their hard-pointed tail tip, which is for digging, to burst through the predator’s stomach wall in a bid to escape digestion.
Suddenly the eel burst from the bird’s stomach and dangled beneath the heron while in the air
Snake eels are a family of eel species that live most of their lives burrowed in the soft sand on the floor of the ocean
When eaten alive by predators, they can perform a gruesome escape by using their hard-pointed tail tip
The snake eel uses its tail to dig through the predator’s stomach wall in a bid to escape digestion
‘Initially, I thought the heron was bitten on the neck by a snake or eel.
Sam’s photos captured the moment the snake eel successfully escaped from the bird who must have regretted its choice of lunch
The heron appeared to survive the gruesome ordeal and was flying around with the snake eel hanging beneath
The keen amateur photographer said he did not realise how the snake emerged until he had returned home
Scientists recently found that the snake eel’s remarkable escape mechanism doesn’t always help save it.
Sam did not see if the snake eel did fully escape from the Great Blue Heron but was amazed by the natural sight
A nearby fox sensed the heron was in distress and lurked nearby, sensing a meal
‘I’m surprised the heron is still flying with what must be a sizable hole in it. I would imagine that the bird won’t survive such an injury though.’