Gazelle is torn to shreds by a baboon in Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya

Jaw-dropping images show the torn-apart body of a gazelle fawn hanging from the mouth of an 82-pound alpha-male baboon in Kenya – even though the creatures often work together to keep an eye out for predators.

The animal was spotted enjoying its lunch in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in South-Western Kenya, by photographer Nimit Virdi, from Wellington, India. 

Shortly before being killed, the baby gazelle was seen standing uncertainly on the grassland as an elder relative stood in the background.

But its ‘shredded’ body was later pictured in the jaws of the fierce baboon, before its upper half was seen being cradled by a baby primate. 

Mr Virdi was in his car when he saw the baboons in the nature reserve. ‘Baboons will seemingly accept any opportunity to get a full belly – even if it means attacking and killing their friendly neighbour,’ he said. 

‘Baboons and gazelle tend to have a civil relationship as they work together to keep an eye out for big cats, but not here.

‘The alpha-male kept eating away at the fawn’s shredded body. At one point, the alpha-male dropped the fawn. That’s when the younger baboon grabbed the body. They spent around thirty minutes eating the fawn.’

Baboons are threatened by big cats and other wild predators, but the greatest threat they face is from humans. 

‘It was a gut-wrenching moment but it’s something I had never seen before in nature,’ Mr Virdi added. 

‘You never know what you might bump into in the wild. Be prepared to be surprised. Even if you think you know a species, you can be baffled. We keep learning new things.’