THIS lion is flipped several metres into the air by a charging buffalo trying to save the life of another herd member.
Take that Buffalo charges at a lion who is trying to eat his mate Take that! Buffalo charges at a lion who is trying to eat his mate
Two young lions had been silently stalking the buffalo for about 45 minutes when one finally made its move - but the predator was so focused on bringing down his prey that he left himself open to a surprise attack.
The astonishing images of the buffalo bull's daring rescue mission were captured by Ian Matheson, 52, during an early morning game drive with his son Oliver, 16, and two of his friends Yaseen Majal, 17, and Alex Raubenheimer, 17, in the Mjejane Reserve on the border of the Kruger National Park in South Africa.
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The lion begins to stalk
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The lion pounces for lunch
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"We had seen the two young lions on the prowl and were already quite excited to witness nature in action, but nothing could have prepared us for what we saw next," Oliver said.
When one of the young lions locked on to the stricken buffalo and dragged him to the ground, it looked destined to succumb.
"It looked like it was game over, he really looked finished," Oliver added.
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| The lion sinks in her claws and teeth |
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| It looks like trouble for the stricken buffalo |
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| The buffalo is offered a reprieve as another charges in |
"Then we saw two of the original herd coming back to investigate and we didn't really know what to expect."
A large bull from the herd sized up the situation, seized his opportunity and in an astonishing turn of events, attacked the young lion, scooping him high into the air with his horns.
A large bull from the herd sized up the situation, seized his opportunity and in an astonishing turn of events, attacked the young lion, scooping him high into the air with his horns.
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| lion, buffalo, Kruger National Park, South Africa, charging, airThe lion is well and truly defeated |
"It was insane, he flipped the lion about five meters into the air. I had never seen anything like it," Oliver said.
"We visit the park two to three times a year," Ian added.
"In all the years we have been coming to the reserve, we have never seen anything close to what we saw that morning".
"We really felt privileged to have witnessed such a rare occurrence" And perhaps most amazingly, all of the animals walked away without any serious injuries - except perhaps a bruised ego on the lion's part.
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