If you thought Planet Earth’s pulse-pounding, lizard-snake chase was the animal content of the year, prepare yourself. This photo of an Australian green tree frog swallowing a small snake is the ultimate depiction of a Darwinian struggle—both animals have their mouths open in a silent scream of victory or defeat, depending on how you see it.
The photo first made rounds after being posted to Reddit in October with the title “One Last Scream Into the Abysssss.” More recently, National Geographic spoke with the photographer, Julie-Anne O’Neill, who actually captured the shot back in 2011. O’Neill was walking in her yard in North Queensland, Australia, when she heard a “loud screeching.” She looked down and witnessed the amphibian and reptile locked in battle, the frog struggling to push the snake down its throat, the snake furiously trying to slither out.
Rushing to get her camera, O’Neill started snapping away. “When I finally cracked off the shot it felt like victory,” she said.
Here is the photo via National Geographic Australia’s Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BaYURv9BPWe/
