Photo by Hal Brindley

This is the amazing sequence of a deathly fight between a leopard and a crocodile in South Africa. What makes these photographs so exceptional is that while there have been reports of crocodiles killing leopards, but this is believed to the first time that the reverse scenario has been observed (and caught on camera).
The photographs were taken by Hal Brindley, an American wildlife photographer, who saw the leopard running out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby. A terrible and bloody struggle ensued., as you can easly observe in the pictures. The leopard drag the crocodile from the water as the reptile fought back. With the crocodile snapping its powerful jaws furiously, the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile's huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat.
Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it.
All the rangers of the game reserve said that they never heard about a leopard killing a crocodile.

Click here to see the whole 34-shots sequence of the fight, on Hal Brindley's website.


Photos by Hal Brindley
click to enlarge