Eagle ray leaps into the air to escape hammerhead shark

This eagle ray took to the skies in a desperate attempt to escape a predator in Panama.

This image captures the stingray's desperate struggle for life as it tries to shake off a hammerhead shark.

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After twisting and turning under and above the water and failing to get away, the stingray resorted to beaching itself to escape the hunter's jaws.

Ralph De Bie, from Amsterdam, managed to capture the ray's fight for life when surfing with pals.

He said: "We were driving the boat back from an epic surf trip and for a tropical pitstop moment we rocked up at the south end of Zapatilla Island.

"Two of us jumped off the boat and seconds later on the other side of the boat we saw the ray jump, with the fin just behind it!

"The fin was just huge and the aggression was fierce.

"It was amazing to see how fast the hammerhead is and how amazingly they are adapted to hunt these spotted eagle rays.

"The big fin definitely helps its quick turning ability and as surfers we can only dream of a cutback turn like that.

"The ray's solution was to beach itself and take a wave back out to sea and by doing so it managed to survive this epic battle.

"The shark tried to come all the way up the beach but couldn't get far enough.

"It all ended well, and we were so excited by the fight we ended up forgetting about the surfing."