Incredible pictures appear to show a heroic hippo help a waterbuck escape the jaws of a hungry crocodile.
In a death match that lasted for more than an hour, the helpless creature was held underwater by the reptile at Murchison Falls National Park, in Uganda.
The waterbuck eventually broke free from the crocodile’s powerful clutches when a hippo intervened, gently dragging and nudging it from the water.
Safari guide Brenden Simonson, 25, who was on a fishing trip this month, watched the incredible scenes unfold from the White Nile River.
He said that although the crocodile wasn’t visible, it is likely one of the many which live in the river was trying to tire then drown the animal.
But after its miraculous escape, this lucky waterbuck was spotted later that day resting beside the same river – sitting perilously close to another crocodile.
Hippos and crocodiles often clash in rivers in Africa. While adult hippos often club together to hunt down crocodiles, the reptiles tend to prey on young smaller hippos.
Brenden, who works at his family’s lodge in the Tarangire National park, said it was an incredible sight to witness.
‘The guide I was with told me that a croc had its back leg and from what it looked like the buck was not able to stand up out of the water, which suggested the croc was holding her down,’ he said.
‘The hippo was being very gentle with and was trying to help her out of the Nile.’
And he said it was lovely to see the struggle resolve with a happy ending for the waterbuck.
‘Witnessing the hippo saving the waterbuck was a truly amazing experience,’ he said.
‘Seeing a hippo showing compassion towards another animal was really heart-warming.
