This stork sticks its head in the mouth of a crocodile to get its meal back! This amazing scene played out in the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania.

Storks are excellent fishers and use their long beaks to snatch up their prey. However every now and then they lose their victims – or at least parts of them. This is exactly what happened when this yellow-billed stork was feasting on its fish and lost a piece – only for a crocodile to scoop it up!

Safari guide Mark Sheridan Johnso witnessed this hilarious moment and shared it with LatestSightings.com:

“I noticed the stork was playing with something in the water, it turned out to be the head of a tiger fish.” For a second it looked as though the stork had been caught up in the action – with its head dangerously close to the beast’s jaws. The crocodile nearly nipped the bird, which made it seem like it had the stork’s head in its jaws!”

One would think these birds would stay away from these sly predators since they could easily become a meal themselves, but actually, crocodiles aid these birds. As crocodiles move through the water and disturb fish they swim away, allowing the storks to see and then catch these fish more easily. This is why it is fairly common to see storks lurking near crocodiles in shallow waters.

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If you look closely…it’s an optical illusion!