Watch crane fight off three tigers in epic battle for survival at Chinese zoo - video

The crane took on three of the world's deadliest predators and lived to 'squawk' the tale

The tigers attack (Reuters)

When faced with three hungry tigers, most animals would not fancy their chances.

If you are a crane, those odds are even more stacked against you.

One crane however, proved that shocks can happen when it bravely fought off three of the world’s meanest predators and lived to “squawk” the tale.

As the three cats slowly stalk the crane, it attempts to warn the tigers off by opening its wings and trying to appear as big as possible.

The tigers then pounce, chasing the bird across the grass and missing it by inches.

Crowds cheered the crane on as it evaded the tigers (Reuters)

The crane then decides to turn defence into attack to make sure that crane steaks are not on the menu, and squares up to the two tigers.