Mark van Kints
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens: 400mm
Aperture: F/5.6
Shutter speed: 1/1600
ISO: 640
Description: Unborn zebra calf swallowed in one go after its mother unsuccessfully tried to cross the Mara River
Story from behind the lens: We arrived at the riverside when the mother zebra had already been killed and was only partially visible just above the surface. A hippo had taken interest in the body, and was fending off some smaller crocodiles that eventually managed to swim off with part of the intestines. It wasn't until a massive crocodile entered the scene - and started thrashing the body - that it became clear the mother was pregnant. In a matter of seconds the crocodile had managed to isolate the calf from the rest of the body, reducing it to a rather gruesome one-bite-sized meal, and it took only a few more seconds to devour the whole thing. Nature in its harshest form.