In a video taken in South Africa, a lizard desperate to save its life endures some nasty pecks to its body while playing dead to escape a hawk’s talons.
Jannette Kotze, 53, started recording in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park when a goshawk landed on the sandy savannah next to her car.
Her dramatic footage shows an unfortunate black lizard that had been scooped up in the predator’s clutches laying motionless, as though dead.
The bird tests and teases its meal by repeatedly nibbling with its sharp beak, toying with the lizard until the tiny reptile suddenly reanimates and sprints out of the the hawk’s reach.
“I could not believe our luck. It was only me and my husband who saw this amazing encounter,” said Kotze, from Pretoria.
“Because Kgalagadi does not have a lot of grass, it was easy to spot the action next to the road.
“When the goshawk landed, the lizard seemed to be lifeless and the bird had its next meal ready.
“But obviously the lizard was pretending to be dead and escaped the talons and sprinted off across the sand to escape.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before. I was just in total amazement at nature and what can happen in the wild.”
