Every animal has its role to play in the circle of life, and this footage taken at a live South African safari by WildEarth is a harsh reminder of that reality. It’s also up there with some of the rarest wildlife moments ever caught on camera.

As a male cheetah cub approaches a waterhole to quench his thirst, an opportunistic crocodile lurking nearby leaps from the water and, well, does what a crocodile does:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-8l-7guF84&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=KrugerSightings

Brutal stuff. The tour guide saw it coming from a mile away and even he was shocked by what he saw. Sad and hard to watch for sure, especially the other cheetahs wanting to help but knowing they couldn’t. A cheetah’s superpower is its speed – getting the hell away as quickly as possible. When ambushed at a split second’s notice by a powerful, hungry crocodile? It’s game over every time.

On the plus side, the gazelles will be pretty happy about this. It’s easy to look at that cheetah as just a thirsty kitty looking for water but it’s capable of the same brutality that crocodile is. Still, gut-wrenching to watch the other cheetahs’ reactions, even if the optimist in you is happy that the crocodile won’t go hungry.

For a wild three-way showdown between a leopard, some wild dogs and a pack of hyenas, click HERE.