The moment of the survival battle between the eagle and the cobra was captured by nature photographer Karthik Ramanurthy in the city of Chennai (India).
Karthik said it took him 30 minutes to “bury his feet” to be able to record this set of photos.
As a photographer specializing in bird photography, Karthik said that witnessing and photographing the battle between eagles and venomous snakes was his “dream come true”.
The series of photos taken by Karthik shows the moment an eagle swoops down on the grass to attack a snake for its meal. However, the eagle did not expect that it was a very poisonous cobra and of course, the poisonous snake did not give up easily to become a meal for others.
Noticing the resistance of its prey, the eagle halted its surprise attack, while the cobra raised its head menacingly. The fight paused for about 2 minutes before continuing.
Karthik said the cobra took full advantage of its defenses and delivered deadly bites at its predator. However, the eagle also proved to be a superb predator when it turned its back to block the cobra’s bites, causing the snake’s bites to slip across the eagle’s feathers.
Finally, the match ended when the bird jumped up, used its sharp claws to grab the snake, then used its legs to break its neck to kill the prey. The venomous snake finally suffered the fate of the hunted.