Zebra Escapes Croc
By Mark McConville
THRILLING footage has captured a zebra escaping the clutches of a crafty crocodile despite lying in shallow water.
The video shows the 330-pound crocodile make a half-hearted attempt to snare the exhausted zebra in its jaws.
According to the photographer this was the predator’s second attempt at catching itself a meal as the zebra had managed to shake it off previously but was left too tired to move.
The action was filmed in South Luangwa, Zambia by safari guide and wildlife photographer Peter Geraerdts (47), originally from The Hague in the Netherlands.
“I wasn’t there on the first impact of the croc trying to kill the zebra,” he said.
“By the time, I found the situation the zebra was down in a small lagoon. The zebra probably went to drink and got surprised by an ambush of this croc.
“The crocodile has a very strong grip once clamped on a leg or other body part. It will try to drown its prey. However, the zebra is very strong and doesn’t built up lactic acid as easily as a crocodile, so I believe at one stage the croc must have felt tired and had to let go.
“This is when I found the zebra, exhausted and the croc nearby. Then the croc had a second go for it, but the zebra managed to get away and the best part, but not filmed unfortunately was when the zebra was welcomed by its family, who were standing only 65 feet away from the scene.
“It was rather touching how the greeting ceremony took place.”
Peter said people are always happier to see the prey escaping the predator rather than a gruesome takedown.
“The happy ending situations are always good for people to see,” he said.
“Once animals become a prey to the hunter you sometimes find it that people don’t cope that well with bloody situations especially when it’s about young animals or big animals because they usually take longer to die.
“This crocodile was a bit too small I would say to take on a zebra but crocs are very opportunistic so if they feel a weakness they will go for it, no matter the size of the animal.”
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