Bird photographers have descended in the vicinity of Ulu Pandan canal since Saturday (Jul. 8), drawn by the appearance of a rare Mandarin duck.

Steven Neo, 72, was one of the photographers who visited the canal to capture photos of the bird.

However, when Neo was there on Jul. 9, one monitor lizard was there as well -- and decided it was a good time for lunch and that its special of the day was duck.

Neo, along with his wife Evelyn Tay, 69, managed to capture footage of the action.

Hunted

As the duck was resting on the water, a monitor lizard lunged at it, causing quite a splash.

The duck got away, but it was far from being out of the woods.

Undeterred by the unsuccessful first attempt, the lizard made another lunch run at the duck.

The duck spotted the lizard early and took off again before the lizard could even try.

According to Neo, the luckless lizard made one last attempt at the duck.

This time, it was smart enough to sneak up on the duck by staying underwater before attacking.

Thankfully, for the third time, the duck evaded its predator but only by the "width of a hair to spare".

Tay managed to shoot this video of one of the attacks, showing how fast-paced the action really was.

To the lizard's credit, it was pretty stealthy and was barely noticeable when it was lining up for the lunge.

Three attacks in 9 minutes

Within 9 minutes, the lizard had launched three attacks at the duck in total.

Neo told Mothership that he did not expect to witness the attack at all.

Based on Neo's account, the majestic duck only lost a bunch of tail feathers in the process.

In nature, that's a considerably good day.

For anyone wondering, when Mothership visited the canal on the morning of Jul. 12, the duck was very much alive and well.

It was spotted waddling along the canal, living its best life and minding its own business.

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Top image courtesy of Steven Neo