A baby crocodile, an animal that is one of the most feared on the planet when fully grown, was surprisingly snatched by a flying eagle fish in Tanzania.

A local photographer snapped the captivating image of the predator flying away with the mammal in its gripping claws. Mark Sheridan-Johnson captured the rare moment during his day off from work as a safari guide at the Selous Game Reserve. When the 32-year-old drove around in his jeep "looking for interesting wildlife to photograph," he noticed a peculiar moment between two predators.

First, he noticed a baby alligator walking along the sand bank of a local beach with a fish in its mouth.

Unbeknownst to the creature, a fish eagle was walking behind it, possibly trying to figure out a way to steal the fish for himself.

The flying prey then used his claws to grab the alligator with the fish in his mouth, and then he flew away with both animals to feast on.

"I saw the fish eagle on the sand bank with something in its beak," Sheridan-Johnson told The Telegraph. "I noticed it wasn't a fish but was in fact a Nile crocodile. The eagle quickly took off but I got a couple of shots of it flying away."

"In nine years of being a safari guide I would never expect to see this unheard of behavior," he added.

He also admitted that the fish eagle, known for eating other birds and small warm-blooded animals, might have been a rare breed. The move it performed was unique and unlike others of its kind.

"I think this eagle could be a lone individual who has learnt how to hunt for crocodiles," Sheridan-Johnson said.

View photos of the fish eagle pursuing then capturing its prey, a baby alligator, here.