 © October 15, 2008 - All rights reserved |
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An aptly named winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, "Deadlock" was captured in the dead of night in a Belizean rain forest.
The image may have lost out to a snow leopard photo for the contest's top honors, but "Deadlock" - the second most viewed photo posted on National Geographic News in 2008 - appears to be the people's choice.
UK-based David Maitland observed from midnight to 3 a.m. as a rare Morelet's tree frog doggedly refused to become supper for a cat-eyed snake - and still didn't see the conclusion. "I was exhausted," the photographer said.
"I would love to have seen them go their separate ways, but I was exhausted," the photographer said. "The frog was all the time trying to pull the snake off, but the snake just wouldn't let go.
"This frog is actually incredibly rare, which lends to the bizarre nature of the whole encounter," he said.