The zebra that bit back! Courageous beast earns its stripes as it fights off a CROCODILE lurking in the waters of the Masai Mara
Galloping to the shore, this courageous zebra fought off a crocodile snapping at it with its razor-sharp teeth in the murky waters of the Masai Mara.
While crossing the Mara river in the Kenyan reserve, the zebra was attacked by the fearsome predator lurking beneath the water.
Hungry for its next meal, the crocodile lunged at the nimble zebra with its powerful jaw, wounding the animal.
Instinctively, the brave zebra lashed out and threatened the crocodile with its bared teeth – causing it to retreat in a rare victory for the prey.
The zebra managed to escape from the clutches of the crocodile in a rare victory over the fearsome predator
The majestic creature escaped from the clutches of the enormous crocodile in the Mara River in the Kenyan reserve
The zebra made a dramatic escape from the sharp jaws of the predator despite being injured by the crocodile
In the height of the dry season zebras and other animals come in from the Masai Mara plains to drink at the river which gives the area its name.
But lurking beneath the water are hundreds of huge Nile crocodiles – which can grow up to 18 feet and weigh a fearsome 500lbs.
Wildlife photographer Ingo Gerlach, 63, had been watching a large number of zebras nervously preparing to cross the Mara river and captured the dramatic incident.
Mr Gerlach recalled: ‘After waiting for about two hours the large group of zebras began to make the crossing. But the crocodiles had used this waiting time to gather in river, and I estimate there must have been about 30 of them.
‘But the Zebras did not seem overly bothered by the gathering of the predators.
‘They started crossing hesitantly, then got faster and faster. At a fast gallop they tore through the water until one of them was caught by a crocodile.
‘The crocodile bit the zebra, but the animal knew how to defend itself and threatened the crocodile with its bared teeth.
‘With the crocodile rattled, the zebra could escape its jaws and with a huge surge galloped towards the bank and safety.
‘It’s one of the few times I’ve seen such a tale have a happy ending for the zebra, rather than the crocodile.’
The zebra made a remarkable escape from the crocodile despite being dragged under the water by the powerful predator
The zebra fights to release itself from the jaws of death during the fierce battle with the enormous crocodile
After successfully fighting off the crocodile, the zebra skipped to the water bank and lived to fight another day