Brutal moment blood sprays as crocodile tears a helpless zebra to pieces after catching it as it tried to cross river
GRAPHIC pictures capture the brutal moment blood sprays everywhere as a crocodile tears a helpless zebra to pieces after catching it as it tried to cross a river.
The gruesome snaps show blood flying through the air as the 500lb crocodile gobbles down the unlucky animal.
The incredible sequence shows a herd of zebra cautiously considering making a river crossing before plunging into the water where a hungry 16-foot long crocodile was lurking.
One unsuspecting 440lb zebra falls victim to the reptile as it is flung into the air before the jaws of death deal their final blow, leaving a splatter of blood in its wake.
A final image captured the greedy croc as it swallowed the last of its prey, leaving just a glimpse of a hoof visible from its mouth.
The images were taken by New York financial consultant, Dennis Stogsdill, 50, while on a trip to the Mara Triangle, Kenya.
He said: “Massive crocs like the ones in the Mara can kill in a fraction of a second.
“They grab the animal and pull it under in an instant.
“Often we can wait for hours for a crossing but on this occasion we pulled up and literally one minute later a very large group of zebras started to cross the river.
“Because there had not been many crossings at this spot to date the crocodiles were hungry, so as soon as there was some action the crocs started to swim up river.
“From beginning to end I think it was probably 40-45 minutes.
“Once the zebra is killed a bunch of other crocs encircle and all try to get a piece of meat.
“This part of the experience is rather intense as the crocs battle for position and attempt to tear off a piece of meat.
“In addition there is a lot of fighting amongst the crocs.”
Africa's largest crocodiles can reach a maximum size of about 20ft and can weigh up to 1,650lb with average sizes in the range of 16ft and 500lb.
They live throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the Nile Basin, and Madagascar in rivers, freshwater marshes, and mangrove swamps.
They eat mainly fish, but will attack almost anything unfortunate enough to cross their path, including zebras, small hippos, porcupines, birds, and other crocodiles.
Dennis was around 85ft from the action.
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“I like several things about wildlife photography. Being in nature, seeing and anticipating interesting wildlife behaviour and the technical challenge of photography,” said Dennis.
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“Seasoned safari goers appreciate ‘the circle of life.’
“I just to try to bring the viewer into the scene.”
