A lucky antelope managed to escape being eaten twice within a matter of minutes after escaping a pack of wild dogs by jumping into a crocodile-infested river.

Yousuf Musa was watching off the deck of Mopani Safari Lodge, Zambia, on July 20 when he spotted a herd of pukus being chased by a group of predators.

Dramatic footage shows the impalas leap into the Luangwa River before one of them managed to reach the apparent safety of the opposite bank.

Trapped by a steep wall, the persistent puku avoided the snapping jaws of one crocodile before bounding into the path of another and inexplicably escaping that attack too.

Yousuf, originally from Preston, UK, said: “This puku had destiny on its side that day. It was trapped, with crocodiles less than a metre away, but managed to avoid all their attacks.

“Around the lodge is a pack of 16 to 21 wild dogs, who are ruthless and could easily tear a puku to shreds in a few minutes.

“The animal kingdom works in a beautiful way. The pukus decided to come and drink water from the river and the wild dogs took a chance knowing they can’t run fast in the sand.

“The only escape route for the pukus was swimming across into the lodge but that meant still having to survive the crocodiles. The river is highly infested with crocs always changing situations like these.

“Incredibly both the wild dogs and crocodiles left with no meal for the day.”

A lucky impala managed to escape being eaten twice within a matter of minutes after escaping a pack of wild dogs by jumping into a crocodile infested river.

Yousuf Musa was watching off the deck of Mopani Safari Lodge, Zambia, on July 20 when he spotted a herd of pukus being chased by a group of predators.

Dramatic footage shows the impalas leap into the hippo-infested Luangwa River before one of them managed to reach apparent safety of the opposite bank.

Trapped by a steep wall, the persistent puku avoided the snapping jaws of one crocodile before bounding into the path of another and inexplicably escaping that attack too.

Yousuf, originally from Preston, UK, said: “This puku had destiny on its side that day. It was trapped, with crocodiles less than a metre away, but managed to avoid all their attacks.

“Around the lodge are a pack of 16 to 21 wild dogs, who are ruthless and could easily tear a puku to shreds in a few minutes.

“The animal kingdom works in a beautiful way. The pukus decided to come and drink water from the river and the wild dogs took a chance knowing they can’t run fast in sand.

“The only escape route for the pukus was swimming across into the lodge but that meant still having to survive the crocodiles. The river is highly infested with crocs always chancing situations like these.

“Incredibly both the wild dogs and crocodiles left with no meal for the day.”