Leopard vs crocodile.

A series of incredible pictures taken at the Kruger National Park in South Africa, document the first known time that a leopard has taken on and defeated one of the fearsome reptiles.

The giant cat raced out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby. A terrible and bloody struggle ensued. Eventually, onlookers were amazed to see the leopard drag the crocodile from the water as the reptile fought back. With the crocodile snapping its powerful jaws furiously, the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile's huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat. Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it.

In the past, there have been reports of crocodiles killing leopards, but this is believed to the first time that the reverse scenario has been observed.

It just doesn't make sense. The meat you get out of a crocodile is just not worth the risk it takes a predator to acquire.

Jackal and vulture standoff

With this photo, taken at Giant's Castle Nature Reserve in the Drakensberg, outdoor lover George Schmahl scooped the nature photography competition featured in Beeld and Die Burger newspapers. Have a look at the photographs and find out how this sequence plays out.

Incredible photographs of the Namibian landscape.

Tinted orange by the morning sun, a soaring dune is the backdrop for the hulks of camel thorn trees in Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia.

Desert-dwelling elephants follow the contours of the ancient Huab River Valley, wending their way through the Torra Conservancy - one of 60 areas overseen by local communities.

Quiver trees stand like eerie sentinels under the stars in the Namib Desert.

Pink flamingos mass on the water in Sandwich Harbour, once a secluded spot for whalers the lagoon is now renowned for its bird life with more than 100 species recorded.

The photographs are the work of photographer Frans Lanting, who took the incredible images on behalf of National Geographic magazine.

Appearing in the June 2011 edition of the famous magazine, the photos accompany a feature by Alexandra Fuller, who tells the story of how animals are thriving in Namibia since it became one of the world's first nations to write environmental protection into its constitution following its independence in 1990. She explains how the eco-minded nation treasures its land and feels responsible for it.

Click here for the full article in the Daily Mail.

Leopard and Python Tug-of-War

A massive snake may not be the average feline's choice of chew toy. But there was no stopping these leopards having a tug of war with one unlucky python. The six-and-a-half-ft (2m) long African rock python became the unwilling 'rope' in the game, after being captured by a female leopard in the long grass.

But as she dragged it, still wriggling, along behind her, she was ambushed by her over-zealous son who wanted to land the kill for himself. The young male snatched the end of the enormous snake in his powerful jaws, and tried to tug it away from his mother. The two big cats fought ferociously over their prey for half an hour, in front of stunned guests at the MalaMala game reserve, South Africa.

The brutal battle was only ended when the female leopard gave up, retreating to a tree while her son tucked in to his prize. But he only ate a morsel before deciding it was not to his taste, and discarding the snake's body in the long grass. The unusual scene was caught on camera by American photographer Josh Scheinert.

Lake of Fire

Do not panic, there is not another ash cloud emergency over Europe. In June 2010, a team of scientists and intrepid explorers stepped onto the shore of the lava lake boiling in the depths of Nyiragongo Crater, in the heart of the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Members of the team had been dazzled since childhood by the images of the 1960 documentary "The Devil's Blast" by Haroun Tazieff, who was the first to reveal to the public the glowing red breakers crashing at the bottom of Nyiragongo crater. Photographer Olivier Grunewald was within a meter of the lake itself, giving us a unique glimpse of it's molten matter. Paula Nelson

The view from the volcano’s rim, 11,380 feet above the ground. At 1,300 feet deep, the lava lake has created one of the wonders of the African continent.

The permanent lava lake of the Nyiragongo is the biggest in the world, an estimated 282 million cubic feet of lava. In 1977 and 2002, the lava lake breached the crater, destroying a large part of the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At night, the base camp is illuminated by the light of the lava lake.

Franck Pothé approaches the lava. For such a close encounter, the wind must be at his back, pushing the heat away. Pothé is constantly informed of the swirling winds via radio contact with other members.

Marc Caillet is the first member of the team to reach the lake’s rim.

For more images click here.

Amazing Wildlife Photographs

These dramatic pictures show a clash of the titans as a protective elephant mum and a ferocious crocodile get in an epic tug of war in Zambia. The female elephant and her baby were drinking from the Luangwa River in the South Luangwa National Park when they were attacked. Leaping out of the murky waters a vicious crocodile bit down on the female's trunk.

Water gushes from the mum's trunk as she finally shakes the croc, with her baby momentarily tripping over the predator before the pair made off safely. They were seen feeding from the river later in the day.

South Luangwa National Park is well-known for its mighty elephant herds of up to 70 individuals. Measuring 9000 square kilometers, the park has 60 animal species including baboons, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, leopards, lions and hippopotamus.

Hippo Help

This might be the first ever recorded rescue of a baby zebra and wildebeest by the same hippo on the Mara River.

Both were rescued within space of 10 minutes as they crossed over from the Lamai side. The photos and videos were captured by Michael Yule and other guests as they were watching a major wildebeest crossing at the time.

The hippo was watching as the wildebeest herd swam past. As soon as the calf jumped in, the hippo swam up to it and pushed it along all the way across until it had reached safety on the other side.It then went back and did the same for a zebra foal just minutes later.

The wildebeest and zebra are now moving down in large numbers from the Masai Mara across the Lamai plains and crossing the Mara River. Guests of Lemala Camp are witnessing crossings every day.Some of the herds have arrived north of Lobo.

http://www.findingafrica.com/

Some great wildlife photo's

Vist http://www.findingafrica.com/ for safari holidays in Southern Africa and taylor made photographic trips to Namibia.