Big appetite? Eagle swoops and snatches deadly Nile crocodile

Lunchtime ... the plucky bird flies off with its wriggling meal

 

AN EAGLE swoops down and grabs a crocodile in its claws before flying off with the dangerous prey.

This incredible scene was captured on camera by a British safari guide working in Tanzania.

The image is all the more amazing because, fully grown, the Nile crocodile is one of the world's most deadly creatures. 

Adults can grow to six metres long and weigh up to a ton - thanks to a diet of hippos, giraffes, buffalos and the occasional human. 

But when they're still infants, the amphibians are vulnerable to passing predators.
In this case, opportunist birds of prey. 

Eagle-eyed ... the bird sneaks up on the croc at a watering hole

 

Safari guide Mark Sheridan-Johnson, 32 who was raised in Tanzania by his Newcastle-born parents, insists he's never heard of an eagle attacking a crocodile before. 

Mark - who took the photos - said: "In nine years of being a safari guide I would never expect to see this. It's unheard of. 

"I think this eagle could be a lone individual who has learnt how to hunt for crocodiles. 

"It certainly knew what it was doing."