Gruesome moment a zebra is viciously mauled by a crocodile in a Kenyan river before valiantly escaping… only to die in agony seconds later
- WARNING: GRAPHIC
- Unwitting zebra was drinking at watering hole when it was attacked by crocodile
- The zebra managed to flee the crocodile with its guts spilling out from its belly
- The brave animal dashed up the riverbank before keeling over from its injuries
Grim photos show the brutal reality of life in the wild as a bewildered zebra attempts to flee from a crocodile attack with its guts hanging out.
The shocking photos, snapped in Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, show a zebra gripped in the jaws of a monster crocodile.
The animal somehow managed to wrench itself free, before dashing 40 foot up a riverbank with catastrophic injuries before keeling over.
The distressing sequence was captured by Kenyan wildlife photographer Shazmeen Hussein Bank, 33, who agonised over his decision to publish the gory shots or not.
The jaws of death: A crocodile opens its jaws to bite a bewildered zebra in a nature reserve in Kenya
The zebra’s belly is torn as the crocodile clamps down. The distressing sequence was captured by Kenyan wildlife photographer Shazmeen Hussein Bank
The animal somehow managed to wrench itself free from the jaws of the crocodile but the damage has been done
Eventually he decided to post his remarkable images to showcase the brutal reality of nature.
‘This is nature. This is real. This moment will stay with me forever,’ he said.
‘It was 1pm and we were sitting on the banks of the Mara river in November. Way after the migration. Several zebras are hanging around looking like they want to cross. They come down and begin drinking water.
‘I’m watching nearby birds for about twenty minutes and the zebras appear to be just cooling off. Suddenly, I notice a croc in the water coming towards one zebra.
The zebra’s skin can be seen stretching as it valiantly battles to escape its doom
‘This is nature. This is real. This moment will stay with me forever,’the photographer said
Despite the crocodile attack, the zebra mages to escape to the riverbank. ‘But what was most amazing was how this zebra escaped, ran out of the water partially dead, made it to the bank and fell down. It was pumped with adrenaline,’ the photographer said
The crocodile feasts on the belly of its zebra prey
‘But zebras are clever. They notice these things due to years of crossing the Mara river. But somehow this one zebra is standing neck deep in the water and this croc is coming for it.
‘All is quiet for several moments and then the loudest splash of all time and suddenly the death roll begins. This zebra is in utter shock, we are in utter shock and I captured every single moment of it.
‘But what was most amazing was how this zebra escaped, ran out of the water partially dead, made it to the bank and fell down. It was pumped with adrenaline.’
The zebra clears the water despite having its belly ripped open in injuries that proved fatal
The zebra’s guts trail behind it as it runs in gruesome scenes highlighting the brutality of nature
Frantic, the zebra manages to begin fleeing up the river bank, despite its grim injuries
For Shazmeen, the encounter was as spectacular as it was grisly.
‘When I got back to camp and processed the whole moment I realised I was beyond excited,’ he admitted.
‘For nature to allow me the privilege to witness such drama and to capture it was actually beautiful.
The brave animal finally succumbs to to its savage wounds
Rolling in the dirt, despite its determination to live, the grievous injuries proved too much
‘I know the image doesn’t say that. But this is real. So, we left the zebra on the banks and came back the next morning and it was gone. Nature had a meal ready for the next animal in need of a good meal for its survival.
‘I hope I get to experience many more like this because it might not look romantic, but this is why it’s called wildlife.’