Put me down! Terrified terrapin's narrow escape after being tossed by crocodile

This terrapin was more than a little shell shocked after narrowly escaping a crocodile’s jaws of death.

The terrified turtle was tossed into the air by the fearsome predator, but somehow avoided being swallowed whole.

The terrapin made a lucky escape as it was mercifully slightly too big for the croc to eat him in one go.

Thanks to the wet surface of its shell, the little turtle managed to slip from the croc’s grip back into the safety of the murky water.

South African safari guide, Mario Moreno, 49, managed to capture the fleeting moment on camera despite originally visiting the area for its birdlife.

Mario said: 'I was focusing particularly on a landscape shot of the lake when one of my guests alerted me to one of the crocodiles making a move.

'The crocodile was tossing the terrapin in an attempt to put it into position and swallow it.

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'It was only about 30 metres away from where we were and there didn't seems to be any visible damage.

'The crocs are all over the place patiently waiting for an opportunity, you could sit there for hours and the crocs would just float motionless.

'We were just lucky to be at the right place at the right time.'

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