When two lions attacked this young and lone buffalo in a South African national park, it appeared that all was lost.
But they hadn’t counted on the buffalo’s friends coming to his aid, and they were tossed several feet in the air before being chased away.
The dramatic scene was captured on camera in Kruger Park’s Mjejane Reserve.
Flyin’ lion! A lion blindsides a smaller buffalo as it emerges from bushes at the Mjejane Reserve in South Africa.Two on one: The hungry cat doesn’t factor in the first buffalo’s larger friend following behind and gets more than it bargained for Under attack: All looked lost when this young and lone buffalo was attacked by two lions in a South African national park Lone: The buffalo had become separated from the herd and become the prey for the two hungry lions Vicious: The lion sinks his teeth and claws into the buffalo as it stands still after becoming lostCaught: The dramatic scene was captured on camera in the Mjejane Reserve on the border of the Kruger Park
Oliver Matheson, 16, and his two friends Yaseen Majal, 17, and Alex Raubenheimer, 17, were present.
They had gone on an early morning game drive with Oliver’s father, Ian, 52, and had not expected to see a ‘kill,’ let alone a battle between a hungry lion and a buffalo with other plans.
‘We’d seen the two young lions on the prowl and were already excited to see nature in action, but nothing could have prepared us for what we saw next,’ Oliver explained.
The two young lions had been stalking the buffalo silently for about 45 minutes before the incident.
Unfold: The attack was witnessed by Oliver Matheson, 16, and his two friends Yaseen Majal, 17 and Alex Raubenheimer, 17Early morning: The teens had joined Oliver’s father Ian, 52, on an early morning game drive and didn’t expect to witness a ‘kill’, let alone a battle between a hungry lion and a buffalo that had other ideasSuspense: ‘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’, said OliverDetermined: The two young lions had been silently stalking the buffalo for about 45 minutes before the incident occurred
They pounced in an instant and began to hunt their prey.
The buffalo fought valiantly, but appeared doomed to succumb to the ruthless attack.
‘It looked like game over, he really looked finished,’ Oliver said.
‘Then we saw two of the original herd returning to investigate, and we had no idea what to expect’.
Plan: In a flash they pounced and began to take down their prey. The buffalo put up a brave fight, but ultimately looked destined to succumb to the ruthless attack
As the young buffalo collapsed, a large bull in the herd assessed the situation, seized the opportunity, and attacked the young lion.
‘It was insane; he flipped the lion about 5 meters in the air. ‘I’d never seen anything like it,’ Oliver said.
‘We go to the park about twice a year,’ said Oliver’s father, Ian.
‘In all the years we’ve been coming to the reserve, we’ve never seen anything like what we saw that morning,’ says one visitor.
‘We felt extremely fortunate to have witnessed such a rare occurrence,’ says one witness.
Surprisingly, all of the animals walked away unscathed, save for a few bruised egos.
Shocked: ‘We visit the park two to three times a year,’ said Oliver’s father, Ian. ‘In all the years we have been coming to the reserve, we have never seen anything close to what we saw that morning’Desperate: The lion sinks his teeth deeper into the buffalo as it frantically tries to escape with its lifeDefend: As the young buffalo fell to the ground, a large bull from the herd sized up the situation, seized his opportunity and attacked the young lionFlying high: ‘It was insane, he flipped the lion about 5 metres into the air. I had never seen anything like it,’ said OliverAnimal kingdom rules: Amazingly all of the animals walked away without any injuries, except perhaps, some bruised egos
