A crafty turtle avoided being eaten by a hungry tiger shark by continually rolling onto its back.

Wayne Lee was leading a fishing trip off the Muiron Islands, Western Australia, in November when he spotted what he believed to be a hawksbill swimming in the crystal blue waters.

Dramatic drone footage captured the predatory shark attacking its prey from underneath, attempting to bite into it, but the smart reptile rolled onto its side.

In a deadly game of cat and mouse, the critically endangered turtle kept narrowly avoiding the shark’s jaws by either flipping onto its back or side in the water.

Wayne said: “Because it was turtle nesting season, they were swimming around in big numbers.

“It was amazing watching how smart the turtle was each time the shark approached from below.

“We felt very privileged to have witnessed this amazing piece of nature and to get to film it was a bonus.

“Hawksbills are not as common as the green turtle in the Exmouth area so it was a real treat.

“After 20 minutes the turtle swam over to the boat and hung around for around five minutes. We could see the scratches all over the back of the shell however the turtle looked in good condition.

“The shark came up to the boat but only circled a few times before swimming away and the turtle then departed.

“I have seen quite a few tiger sharks attacking turtles over the years but never had a drone onboard before. When I saw the fin nearby, I got the drone up.”

A crafty turtle avoided being eaten by a hungry tiger shark by continually rolling on to its back.

Wayne Lee was leading a fishing trip off the Muiron Islands, Western Australia, in November when he spotted what he believed to be a hawksbill swimming in the crystal blue waters.

Dramatic drone footage captured the predatory shark attacked its prey from underneath, attempting to bite into it, but the smart reptile rolled on to its side.

In a deadly game of cat and mouse, the critically endangered turtle kept narrowly avoiding the shark’s jaws by either flipping on to its back or side in the water.

Wayne said: “Because it was turtle nesting season, they were swimming around in big numbers.

“It was amazing watching how smart the turtle was each time the shark approached from below.

“We felt very privileged to have witnessed this amazing piece of nature and to get to film it was a bonus.

“Hawksbills are not as common as the green turtle in the Exmouth area so it was a real treat.

“After 20 minutes the turtle swam over to the boat and hung around for around five minutes. We could see the scratches all over the back of the shell however the turtle looked in good condition.

“The shark came up to the boat but only circled a few times before swimming away and the turtle then departed.

“I have seen quite a few tiger sharks attacking turtles over the years but never had a drone onboard before. When I saw the fin nearby, I got the drone up.”