Remarkable pictures have captured an extremely rare battle between a caiman and an anaconda in Brazil.

The snake wrapped itself around the caiman in what turned out to be a dramatic 40-minute fight for survival on the banks of the Cuiabá River.

Shocking photos captured the moment a vicious caiman sunk its teeth into an anaconda that gripped it tightly in a dramatic wrestling match on the banks of the Cuiabá River, Brazil

Wildlife photographer Kim Sullivan, from Indiana, witnessed the 40-minute-long struggle between the pair in September, which resulted in a draw

The anaconda wrapped itself around the caiman, constricting it tightly in its grip, before the camain dragged the snake underwater where it eventually let go

The photographter said it was a a ‘rare’ battle between the camain and the anacond and was a once in a lifetime sighting

Kim said : ‘There were intermittent struggles when the caiman tried to free itself throughout the 40-minute encounter. It gasped for air and the anaconda constricted more and more.’

Kim said in a bid to escape the tight grip of the anaconda, the caiman went underwater where the snake struggled to get air and eventually loosened its grip

She said: ‘The caiman came up still constricted by the snake and then went down again for a long time. This time it came back up free, and we did not see the snake’

Kim revealed there was no victor, saying: ‘The caiman calmly came back to the bank… we finally saw the anaconda come up on the riverbank and slither back into its hole’