By TAMMY HUGHES

Buzzard off! A sharp beak and an impressive wingspan would be enough to scare away most animals, but this plucky jackal has decided to give the vulture a run for its money

Don't you hate it when somebody interrupts you while you're trying to enjoy a meal? Spare a thought, then, for this poor black-backed jackal, who was suddenly and unpleasantly muscled off his dinner by two enormous vultures.

There must have been part of him that knew he could easily have been picked up by one of the birds and dropped off at a different location - possibly from a rude height.

Nevertheless, he turned down his ears, bared his teeth, and executed a number of gymnastic leaps into the air that earned him the nickname 'Kung-Fu Jackal'.


Oh no, there's TWO of them: The vultures work together, with one drawing the jackal away while the other has a crack at the food. The result is a number of acrobatic leaps by the jackal

The ordeal was witnessed with both awe and amusement by a group of tourists on safari in Tanzania, east Africa.
Despite being transfixed by the lunchtime battle, amateur photographer Tiziano Cei, from Tuscany, managed to take some action shots.
He said the courageous jackal tried for as long as possible to protect his meal, but his opponents outclassed him in number, size and weight.
He said: 'We were doing a photo safari driving from Seronera to Ndutu trying to find some cheetahs to photograph. In the distance we could see two white-backed and one lappet-faced vulture.


Ribs and wings: Finally, the jackal succumbs to the two-pronged attack and clears off, leaving a clearly delighted vulture to crow over what's left of the kill

'We drove up to get a closer look when we saw the jackal feeding on the carcass. The birds were clearly waiting to try and find a way to reach the food. When they began their attack the jackal went crazy, he put down his ears and started to jump at them.
'We watched transfixed for three or four minutes until the jackal was finally forced to retreat. The birds were bigger than he was and he was fighting a losing battle.
'We were so impressed with his determination that we nicknamed him Kung-Fu Jackal.'


source: dailymail