Crocodile tries to eat a baby elephant

Dumbo forgot to check for predators...

The above image of a crocodile attacking a baby elephant was shot by amateur photographer Johan Opperman while taking pictures of a family of African bush elephants grazing by a water hole in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Should have just gone to the pub and had a beer.

Under the watchful eye of its family, the young elephant headed to the edge of the waterhole to grab a drink of cool water. And as you would expect for this to be featured on Animals Eating Animals, there was a hungry crocodile lying in wait. It pounced on the baby elephant, hoping for a kill by snapping its strong jaws around its trunk, leading to these almost comical pictures.

According to Opperman, on hearing the baby's distressed call, the herd of elephants scared off the reptile by trumpeting and stamping their heavy feet around. After the attack, the elephant herd stayed with young Dumbo and they all walked out to safety. It's a similar event to the 'Battle at Kruger Park', just not as epic a rescue!

Still interested in crocodiles? Check out when a leopard ate a crocodile or when a zebra became a crocodile's lunch.