A crocodile sped through the water like a torpedo toward a desperate red lechwe antelope in Botswana recently, prompting a life-and-death dash to shore. (Watch the video below.)
In footage posted Tuesday by the wildlife platform Latest Sightings, observers on a boat can be heard cheering for the buck as it leaps and swims as fast as it can ahead of the closing reptile in the Chobe River.
The croc gets distracted by the boat for a moment before churning into high gear at the antelope. The suspense soars as the croc catches and pounces on the red lechwe.
But the antelope manages to buck off the predator and bound onto land. Race over.
The red lechwe is suited for running in water partly because of a water-repellent substance on its fur.
Good thing for this antelope. Bad thing for the croc.
“It was a truly incredible experience to witness such a dramatic and intense struggle,” videographer Caitlyn Earwaker and Lucy Whitehead told Latest Sightings.