NATURE is a cruel storyteller. All too often, the cutest animals are the tastiest - and the easiest prey for predators. That spritely springbok, gambolling over an African savanna? That's a leopard's lunch. That turtle hatchling, struggling down to the shoreline? A seagull's snack.
But every so often, nature throws away its own cruel script, for something you could otherwise imagine being dreamt up around a Disney Corp roundtable.
It happened recently in South Africa.
Irish photographer David Jenkins was on board a shark-spotting boat tour off the coast of Cape Town when he spotted a young seal making a miraculous escape from the jaws of a Great White shark.
The seal was lifted out of the water by the attacking shark but landed on the predator's nose, before swimming off to safety.
Lifted out of the water, the seal winds up on the shark’s nose. Picture: David Jenkins / Caters News / Picture Media.
The 41-year-old photographer said a pack of seals were making their way back to Seal Island in False Bay when the amazing attack - and miraculous escape - took place.
"The sharks are really well camouflaged due to their dark backs and when the seal looks down it is hard to make out the shark in the dark below," he said.
"When the shark picks its time to attack, it can accelerate at around 40km/h upwards which can send both the shark and the seal flying up out of the water.
"I have seen a shark lose a tooth on a decoy breach before but never when attacking and killing a real seal.
"The breaching sharks are amazing, the speed and agility just takes your breath away as they can explode from below without warning.
"This seal was one lucky pup."
