A tawny eagle was enjoying its puff adder meal in the middle of the road when 2 bateleurs flew in to challenge it!
The eagle was outnumbered, but it put up a fight and created a spectacular show!
Introduction
Nick Mathios is passionate about wildlife photography, and after years of experience, he could never have predicted seeing three raptors facing off on the tar road, near Lower Sabie in Kruger.

It all started off as a typical safari, Nick left camp and was scanning the bushes for animals, when something caught his eye in the road.
Tawny Eagle With Catch
It was a tawny eagle and it was using its razor-sharp beak to pull away at something. Nick came close enough to identify what it was eating, and it was a highly venomous puff adder!

Puff adders are among the most toxic snakes in South Africa and are notorious for their venom that destroys tissue! Puff adders can also be dangerous to birds of prey, but tawny eagles are well-equipped to deal with snakes, and encounters are often one-sided.
As soon as Nick was close enough to see it, he fully expected the tawny eagle to flap away with its meal, but it didn’t! Instead, it stayed exactly where it was and tried to gobble the snake down, almost like it knew something was coming.

Bateleurs Arriving
This already made the sighting unique, and just as Nick was thinking about it, a bateleur pair came swooping down out of nowhere! The bateleurs worked together and teamed up to try and bully the tawny eagle from different sides!

Tawny eagles are bigger than bateleurs, so seeing the smaller birds put up a challenge was a surprise! Smaller, they might have been, but they were far from unprepared, and worked together to overwhelm the tawny eagle!
Eagles Meeting
The tawny eagle had to act quickly! There wasn’t enough room to escape, and the last thing it wanted to do was lose its hard-earned meal, so, it decided to fight back! The tawny eagle targeted the smaller immature bateleur and lunged toward it, while still holding onto the snake with its talons.

As intimidating as this must have been for the young one, it was brave! Not only did it hold its ground, but it jumped up to meet its rival and clashed with the tawny eagle in midair! Making for one of the most iconic raptor shots we’ve seen.
The Flee
It was incredible to see just how persistent the little one was, but even after all the bravery, the tawny eagle still managed to push it off. This created a big enough gap for the eagle to take off with the snake!

The Chase
The action didn’t end there, though… As the tawny eagle perched on a nearby tree, the big bateleur tried to give chase, and the shot that Nick managed to take from this playing out was unbelievable!

Conclusion
The chase didn’t end up amounting to anything, and the bateleurs eventually flew off to find another target. In the end, the tawny eagle managed to hold onto its meal.