July 13th 2024.
Renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough was full of praise for teacher Kate Fry's stunning photographs capturing the intense moment when a grass snake attempted to devour a frog. The images were taken during a Year 5 outdoor education trip to a nature reserve in Dorset, where Kate works as a governance officer at The Epiphany School in Bournemouth.
After receiving the photos, Sir David took the time to send a handwritten reply to the schoolchildren, expressing how lucky they were to have witnessed such a rare encounter in the wild. He also commended Kate on her remarkable photography skills and asked for his congratulations to be passed on to her. The students were overjoyed to receive such a special message from the iconic presenter of Planet Earth.
Kate, who is 57 years old, shared that the children were absolutely thrilled to receive the letter from Sir David. She also described him as a kind and inspiring man. As a school, they take advantage of being close to a nature reserve and encourage their students to appreciate and learn from the natural world.
During their trip to the Stour Valley nature reserve, the class had been pond dipping to learn more about rivers and their local habitat. It was during this activity that they spotted a grass snake multiple times, clearly on the hunt for its next meal. Kate explained that they noticed a frog rising out of the water, with the snake underneath pushing it up. The snake had one of the frog's rear legs in its mouth, but it was unable to swallow it due to the leg being stuck in its throat.
The intense scene continued for a few minutes, with the snake eventually pulling the frog under the water. However, to everyone's surprise, the frog managed to escape and jumped away, leaving the snake behind. Kate, along with the students and nature reserve staff, were all amazed and thrilled to witness this dramatic encounter, despite not being fans of snakes.
Reflecting on the experience, Kate shared that it was important for children to see the whole spectrum of nature, even if it can sometimes be brutal. She believed that it was a valuable learning experience for the students to witness a predator in action, hunting for its live food. And despite the intensity of the moment, she couldn't help but admire the wonders of nature at its finest.
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