In an incredibly rare and interesting encounter, a lioness, hoping to feed her cubs, single-handedly tried to take down an elephant.
Lioness (Photo by: Alberto Ghizzi Panizza/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The sighting was at Hwange National Park and was shared by Samuel Chevallier on Latest Sightings.
Chevallier is a film maker who is part of the African Bush Camps film team called Rewild.
According to Chevallier, this sighting was an intense moment to witness and capture.
Early one morning, a pride of lions was seen resting in the same place where it was spotted the previous evening.
Chevallier and his companions watched for a while as the cubs played with one another. It was not long until the mother started getting active as she gathered the cubs and walked them through the bush.
Pursuing the lions slowly to see what they were up to, they witnessed the mother heading into a thicket.
The next thing, all they heard was the screeching sound of an elephant.
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Upon having a closer look, they found the lioness on top of a young elephant trying to bring her down.
The lioness clawed into the thick skin of the elephant – hanging on tightly. Meanwhile, the elephant fought against the strong grip and pull of the lioness.
After a few moments of struggling to get the lioness off, the elephant managed to shake loose from the grip of the lioness and exited into the bush behind her.
While all this action took place, the cubs were laying in the tall grass looking on as their mother attempted to secure a meal.
However, after an unsuccessful attack, the mother came to collect her cubs and headed away into the morning. Fortunately, she was unscathed from the encounter.
Chevallier further expressed that it was not easy nor pleasant to hear the sound of a screeching animal fighting to survive. Moreover, trying to capture the moment was intense as adrenaline was high and it was a case of mixed emotions.
‘Never in all my years of guiding have I ever seen such a sighting as elephant and lion have always had an interesting relationship. Often elephants will push a lion away eagerly – especially when they are in big herds’.
See how it all unfolded, courtesy of Latest Sightings:
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