A heron preyed on an eel, swallowed it whole, and thought it had its meal in the bag, so to speak. Unfortunately for the heron, the eel wasn’t going down without a fight. The still-alive eel apparently burst through the heron’s stomach as the heron was mid-air, creating a sort of horror scene come to life for the amateur photographer standing below.
Sam Davis was taking photos along a Delaware shoreline as the shocking nature scene played out above him. Davis told Live Science that initially, he assumed the eel had somehow bitten the heron’s neck and was hanging on for dear life.
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Davis was far away from the heron, using a telephoto lens to shoot the bird and the escapee. He said the heron wasn’t acting like its meal had just burst from its stomach, and, in fact, Davis said he didn’t realize that’s what had happened until he got home and examined his photos.
Watch Live Science’s round up of Davis’s photos and an explanation of the heron and eel situation here:
And here’s a recent social share of one of Davis’s photos:
Header stock image by André Gilden/Getty Images