Crocodile battles shark and shows it who's boss
Two fierce animals went head-to-head in the Adelaide River on Tuesday. The ferocious battle ended with the bull shark between the jaws of the massive saltwater crocodile.
It wasn't just any croc that won the fight, but Brutus, the most famous reptile in the area.
Tourists on an hour-long wildlife cruise in northern Australia witnessed the amazing sight.
The group had earlier watched crocodiles, including the huge 5.5m Brutus, leap out of the water to eat pieces of buffalo meat held out on a pole to them.
Photo: YouTube/Epic Wildlife
Mr Andrew Paice, who was on the tour with his partner and his daughter, 7, said: "It was on the way back to the jetty, we went past Brutus again, he was up on the bank."
"As we were going past, we noticed that there was a fin. We thought it was a barramundi (fish) or something. And the guide took the boat in for a closer look and lo’ and behold... it was a shark," he said.
Brutus, who is thought to be about 80 years old, is missing a front leg and most of his teeth.
Speculation is that the prospect of a fish dinner was tasty revenge for a croc who was thought to have lost his limb to one of the sharks who inhabit nearby waters.
Mr Paice said his daughter was “awestruck” by the experience.
"So were the rest of the people (onboard) including the guide; he had never seen it before either and he had been there for about 30 years. He was so excited."
Photo: YouTube/Epic Wildlife
The Northern Territory News said Brutus won the titanic struggle with the shark, but Mr Paice said he wasn’t so sure.
“When we went past the first time, the croc was lying there with the shark in its mouth,” he said.
“When we pulled the boat in closer it slid back into the water. And when the shark, or the mouth of the croc, hit the water, the shark started to thrash around."
"So it was certainly still alive. We couldn’t see any blood anywhere,” he said, noting that Brutus had only a few teeth left.
“It may have got away; it may have got eaten – we don’t know. He didn’t put that display on for us unfortunately.”
Source: AFP
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