A daring bearded vulture took on a jackal as they scrapped over a carcass in South Africa, but eventually the peckish vulture and its friends had to leave empty handed.
The vulture had more difficulty picking up the snack than he bargained for when the jackals fought back, aggressively defending their position on the mountain.
The hungry bird took off after a tussle to join its fellow vultures, leaving the two black-backed jackals to fight among themselves.
Swooping down: The vultures join the jackal to scrap over a carcass left out on the mountain in Drakensberg, South Africa
Nasty peck: The vulture goes at the jackal with its sharp beak near a hut where visitors could birdwatch in the nature reserve
Nip on the ankle: The jackal will not give up the fight for the meat-covered bones after he got there first
Mitchell explained: ‘The hide from where these images were captured is open for visitors to watch the bearded vultures and other endangered bird species.’
‘These images were captured when a group of jackals arrived on top of the mountain in the late afternoon to come and steal the meaty bones that were placed out for the vultures. ‘
Making its escape: The vulture begins to fly away realising the jackal was going to continue fighting hard for its food
Parting shot: The animals have one last tussle before the vulture flies off in failure
Jackals win: Eventually the jackals managed to see off the vulture who flew off to rejoin its fellow birds
The claws are out: The jackals launch at each other, carrying on fighting after vultures had left
