Last terrifying moments of a young buffalo as a hungry crocodile strikes

In the wild only the fittest survive as this young buffalo found out to its cost.

These were the final moments of a calf before a hungry crocodile did what comes naturally and dragged it down to a watery grave.

Astonishingly, the buffalo's herd did nothing to protect the animal or ward off the predator.

These dramatic images were captured by British tourist Donna Bourdon during her recent visit to South Africa's MalaMala Game Reserve in Johannesburg.

The incident took place at the Bicycle Crossing Hippo Pools as a group watched a herd of buffalo.

The crocodile surfaced and made its way to the water’s edge, bumping its way between the buffalo as they drank, which didn’t seem to concern them at all.

Then, without warning, it latched onto one of the calves.

But still the herd remained calm and quite unperturbed by what was happening. The calf’s mother walked up to it from time to time, but made no attempt at all to help

Normally very protective of their offspring, it was almost as if the herd didn’t realise the threat the crocodile posed.

It took more than two hours for the calf to finally give up its battle and succumb to the jaws of the mammoth reptile.