The moment the giant crocodile rushed towards Thompson’s antelope and bit off its prey in an instant caught the eye of a photographer in Kenya.
The 5-meter-long crocodile lay still waiting for its target to enter the river to drink water in the Masai Mara national reserve in Kenya, Nus Corner reported yesterday. Gripping the Thompson’s antelope in the leg after aiming, the half-ton monster drags its vicᴛι̇ɱ into the water and drowns it before pulling the carcass closer to shore.
When it realized that Thompson’s antelope was too big to eat all at once, the crocodile used its powerful jaws to bite the prey in half.
“That afternoon, despite the alligator threat, Thompson’s gazelle was too thirsty to bother with predators. It ran straight to shallow water with a small herd of about 12 animals following. They were beaten up. Alligators with 4 in the herd became vicᴛι̇ɱs of 5 giant crocodiles. The rest had to retreat to the shore and watch their fellows being eaten,” Wu said.
The crocodile closest to Thompson’s antelope grabbed it by the leg, dragging it under the water for about 7-8 minutes to drown. Next, the crocodile dragged the antelope carcass ashore. It bites down on the middle part of the prey’s abdomen, lifts it, and repeatedly thrashes it into the water until the antelope’s body splits in half after about 15 minutes. The antelope was quickly eaten, according to Wu.
“Watching a half-ton crocodile hunt and eat antelope is terrifying. This is a male about 5 meters long and at least 10 years old. From the moment the antelope stepped into the water until it fell into the fish’s jaws. It only took 30 seconds. We stood 25 meters away from the crocodile and felt the full natural power of these prehistoric killing machines,” Wu shared.