Ouch that hurts! The vulture reminds the jackal of nature's pecking order by nipping him on the nose after the jackal tried to snatch a scrap of meat This jackal was reminded of his place in nature's pecking order when he got a nasty nip on the nose after trying to snatch a hungry vulture's scrap of meat.
The pair came to blows after setting their sights on the same tasty snack.
Although the meat was closely guarded by the bird the jackal thought he'd try his luck - but he obviously hadn't bargained for a fight.
Determined to hold on to his dinner, the feisty bird stood its ground as the hungry creature advanced on his meal.
And when the jackal finally plucked up the courage to pounce the vulture struck back with his beak.
These incredible pictures were snapped by husband and wife Lizet and Johann Grobbelaar at Giant's Castle Nature Reserve in the Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
The bird-watching couple, from Pretoria, often travel there to photograph the large raptors, which gather there to feast on carcasses dumped by the reserve staff.
But, despite their frequent visits, this is the first time the delighted pair had witnessed such a fight between vulture and jackal.
Sizing it up: The jackal tries to sneak up on the vulture who stands protectively over the morsel of meat 
Squaring up: The bird of prey and the jackal try to intimidate each other, but the jackal is in for a nasty surprise when the vulture bites him on the noseMr Grobbelaar, 40, said: 'Interaction between jackals and the vultures have been witnessed by others but this was a first for us.
'We were anticipating that something was going to happen so the adrenalin was pumping.
'It all started when the jackal appeared over the ridge. The vulture immediately noticed it and seemed irritated and not intimidated at all.
'There was a small piece of meat to the right of the bird and it stood its ground.
'The jackal would slowly approach and then back off again repeatedly with the vulture just standing still.
You win! The jackal backs off from the vulture after getting more than he bargained for when he tried to steal the bird of prey's food 'Then, after about 10 minutes of this, the jackal decided it was then or never and approached right up to the bird.
'It lunged toward the vulture but the the bird replied by zapping it on the nose.
'The jackal immediately backed off. He tried again a little later but this time it gave up much sooner without any physical contact.
'It was very exciting. We were very surprised to see that the vulture actually got hold of the jackal's nose.'
source: dailymail
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