Watch tigress and her cubs feasting on crocodile they killed in rare footage

Visitors at a national park in India have captured once-in-a-lifetime footage of a tigress and her three cubs dining on the carcass of a crocodile, which they ambushed and killed as a family.

Pictures taken on Monday (April 15) show the feline family of four lying on the banks of a pond in Ranthambore National Park, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, as they take turns feasting on the spoils of a very fruitful hunt. 

This isn't the first time the mother — a 6-year-old Bengal tigress (Panthera tigris tigris) named Riddhi — has gone after a crocodile, but it is her first documented success. 

"The footage captured the majestic tigress and her offspring in a rare moment of triumph," park representatives wrote in a statement. "Riddhi's prowess solidifies her status as the reigning queen of Ranthambore."

Related: Is the Javan tiger back from extinction? New study ignites controversy. 

Before Riddhi, her grandmother Machli was the park's resident "crocodile killer," according to the statement. Machli died in 2016 at the age of 19, but she lives on in the memory of spectators who saw her overpower and slay a 14-foot-long (4.3 meters) crocodile after a long battle.

Tigers don't often go after crocodiles, preferring to attack prey — including pigs, deer, elephant calves and leopards — on land, according to staff at Bandhavgarh National Park in India.