An amateur wildlife photographer captured an eel attempting to elude the bird that ate it alive.

The remarkable scene was taken on camera by Sam Davis, 58, from Maryland in the United States. His photographs show the eel exploding from the stomach of the great blue heron that swallowed it.

The snake eel has a hard tip for digging about in the soft sand on the ocean floor, where it spends the most of its time.

Instead, this eel decided to use that hard point to get itself out of the bird’s gut. Unfortunately, based on the photos, it appears that the snake eel did not survive and did not complete its escape.

Mr Davis stated that he went to the wildlife reserve to photograph foxes, eagles, and “anything else that may be interesting.”

He noticed two eagles and a fox following the heron around, as if they were about to strike.

It wasn’t until he came home that he realized what he was looking at.

“At first, I assumed the heron had been bitten on the neck by a snake or eel.”

“After I came home and edited the images, I realized it was an eel coming through his neck.” Mr Davis stated, “I could see his eyes and he was still alive.”

“The wildlife refuge stated they’d never seen anything like that.” It’s a morbid photograph.”

According to Martin Fowlie, an RSPB expert, snake eels have been observed trying to burrow out of fish in the past “in order to avoid being eaten.”

“But I’ve never seen visuals like this involving a bird before,” he said.

‘I’m shocked the heron is still flying with such a large hole in it. However, I believe the bird will not survive such an injury.”