A jaguar and yellow anaconda battle was captured in Brazil - Getty Images Europe

A jaguar’s brutal battle with a yellow anaconda has been captured by a wildlife photographer along a riverbank in South America.

Chris Brunskill was on a boat along the Cuiabá River in the western Brazil state of Mato Grosso when he witnessed the rare encounter.

The UK-based photographer said he was “very fortunate” to witness the “incredible” jaguar v snake encounter.

“This is by far the rarest of rare events in the life of the jaguar and I know of several people who have spent twenty years or more on the river and not had the good fortune to see what I saw last week,” he recalled.

“On this day we had left the hotel late due to rain and only pulled off from the jetty just after 9:30am on a cold, cloudy day.

The jaguar attacks the yellow anaconda Credit: Chris Brunskill Ltd/ Getty

“Ten minutes up river we spotted a jaguar walking in the open along the top of the riverbank when something in a patch of long grass caught her attention. I was only half paying attention at this point when she flicked her paw into the grass and out came an anaconda!”

He explained the rivals fought for around 90 seconds in a battle to the death, with the “snake lunging at the jaguar several times” during the confrontation.

The cat spotted the snake resting on the riverbank and chased it into the shallow waters Credit: Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty

“It immediately fled from the jaguar who promptly chased it down the bank into the shallow water at the river's edge,” he added.

“With both the cat and the snake clearly visible, I had the unique opportunity to shoot as they fought for close to ninety seconds in the open, in good light on a fairly calm river, just metres from my boat.”

The jaguar eventually won the battle Credit: Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty

But the jaguar was the winner of the contest after several ferocious bites to the snake’s mid-section.

“The snake managed to bite it on the nose more than once before it was eventually subdued by the big cat,” he added.

“With the reptile's strength fading, the jaguar bit through its tail before jumping back up the riverbank with the stunned anaconda dangling from its mouth.”

You can follow Chris Brunskill on Facebook.