Crocodile cheated of lunch as waterbuck makes tense escape

A boatload of tourists in South Africa was treated to the ultimate display of tension and release when it watched a crocodile stalk a waterbuck during a cruise on Lake St Lucia.

The group was tickled by the sight of a waterbuck making its way across the lake, but the charming spectacle was set to take an almost unbearably suspenseful turn.

For behind the buck there suddenly appeared a pair of eyes and the hint of a snout which were the central point of the ominous "V" rippling across St Lucia's surface.

The tourists can be heard taking a collective breath as they watch the buck continue to make its way towards the water's edge, which suddenly seems a very long way away.

Lungs still full, the group watches on helplessly as the crocodile bears down on its prey, closing in until it is roughly an equal distance from the buck as the buck is from the bank.

It is then that the reptile makes its bid, lunging hard for the kill.

But the buck suddenly finds a burst of speed of its own and manages to launch itself at the bank, which it lands on just as the croc's jaws clamp down on nothing at all.

The tourists on the boat erupt with joy at the lucky escape, which turned out to be, if nothing else, a "great icebreaker", according to guide Deiric Walsh, who captured the chase on film.

"It was amazing," Mr Walsh said. "When the waterbuck escaped the tourists were hugging each other, laughing and talking about the experience they were and totally exhilarated.

"Imagine what the reaction would have been had the waterbuck been a second slower."