This rarely seen dramatic battle accidentally caught the lens of 49-year-old British photographer Ben Cranke during a visit to the Okavango swamp in Botswana, South Africa.
A group of lions led by a 13-year-old lioness attacked a baby calf standing at the edge of the wild buffalo herd. |
The mother wild buffalo attacked and chased away the lionesses stalking her herd. |
The brave mother wild buffalo butted into the female lion’s calf to chase it away from the calf. |
Angry, the lionesses returned to attack a calf again. |
The calf escaped and ran into the water, where another lioness pounced on it. . |
But another wild buffalo in the herd rushed to help rescue the calf and forced the lioness to let it go. |
Lions also do not easily let go of their prey. They carried out a series of consecutive attacks after that, but encountered fierce resistance from the wild buffalo. |
The calf was freed by its mother and retreated to a safe place. |