An epic battle between a neighborhood crocodile named Brutus and a bull shark was captured on camera by a man on a wildlife tour in northern Australia this week.
Andrew Paice was cruising down the Adelaide River in Kakadu with his family on Tuesday when they saw the 18-foot long crocodile on the river bank with a bull shark in its mouth.
At first it looked like the croc was about to devour the shark, but "when we pulled the boat 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," Paice told AFP.
Brutus, who is 80-years-old, is a favorite among tourists who take the Adelaide River Experience Jumping Crocodile Cruises in Australia's Northern Territory. Paice said they had fed Brutus buffalo meat earlier on the cruise.
But apparently it wasn't enough for Brutus because when the boat came back around it was lights out for the unfortunate shark. Photos show Brutus charging for the shark surrounded by splashing water. Another shows the shark with its jaw wide open while inside Brutus' mouth.
"That's the first time I've ever seen one of our crocs catch the shark," Cruise operator Morgan Bowman told the Northern Territory News. "It was amazing."
Local gossip surrounding Brutus is that he attacked the shark out of vengeance against another shark who took his front leg, which is missing.
"But from listening to other people, it was probably more likely a big crocodile (which took his front leg). But who knows? It was either a crocodile or a shark," Paice told AFP.
Though several news outlets reported that Brutus ate the shark, Paice is skeptical because he did not see any blood and the crocodile is missing most of his teeth.
"It may have gotten away; it may have got eaten- we don't know," he told AFP. "He didn't put that display on for us unfortunately."
