Mom comes to the rescue! Amazing moment where a jackal cub is dropped by an eagle that ducked with it after its mother startled it
- Tawny eagle swoops in and grabs the jackal cub in photos taken in Kenya
- Its mother attacked the predator, causing it to drop its head mid-flight
Incredible photos show the moment when a jackal saves her cub from the clutches of an eagle.
A tawny eagle swooped in and snatched the jackal from its terrified mother in photos taken in Masai Mara, Kenya.
The mother lunged at the predator, causing it to drop her young into the air. It landed back on the ground unharmed, much to the delight of its mother, who grabbed it and escaped the eagle’s reach.
Photographer Ateeb Hussain, 39, captured the dramatic moment and said he saw the jackal’s mother moving like crazy with the cub in her mouth for the first time.
At first he thought she was on the lookout for hyenas in the area, but 10-15 minutes after first seeing the mother, a tawny eagle suddenly swooped down and tried to grab the cub from the mother’s grasp.
A tawny eagle swooped in and snatched the jackal from its terrified mother
Photographer Ateeb Hussain, 39, captured the dramatic moment in Masai Mara, Kenya, saying he saw the jackal mother with the cub in her mouth moving like crazy for the first time
She lunged at the predator, causing it to drop her cub into the air. He landed back on the ground unharmed, much to the delight of his mother, who grabbed hold of him and escaped the eagle’s reach.
The jackal managed to escape the eagle’s range for a while by outwitting it, but the predator got in front of the cub a second time and managed to grab its prey.
Mr Hussain said: ‘It happened so fast and only lasted a few seconds.
The eagle grabbed the cub, but the jackal lunged and the cub was dropped in mid-flight.
“It seemed pretty okay for all its problems. Perhaps the eagle hadn’t gripped tightly enough.’
After a few minutes, the eagle again went after the mother and her cub, but when it failed, it finally gave up and flew away.
“We followed the jackal for about a mile until we saw it reunite with its mate in a new place. The whole sighting must have taken an hour and a half,” Mr Hussain said.
“In all my years of exploring the wild, I can’t recall encountering a rarer and more dramatic interspecies interaction. The cub was lucky to have fallen and survived the attempted grab.”
At first he thought she was on the lookout for hyenas in the area, but 10-15 minutes after first seeing the mother, a tawny eagle suddenly swooped down and tried to grab the cub from the mother’s grasp.
After a few minutes, the eagle again went after the mother and her cub, but when it failed, it finally gave up and flew away