Wildlife photographer and guide Johan Adolf Smalman caught the astonishing sight: A lion cub flees from the pursuit of South African buffalo at Skukuza in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Mr Smalman said the large buffalo approached a group of lions who were eating another buffalo they had killed earlier by the river.
The African bush buffalo is the largest herbivore on the continent, can weigh almost a ton. They have a pair of large horns connected to the top of the head about 1.5 m long. This large wild buffalo is known to be rather short-tempered and can easily hurl an adult lion in the air or trample one underfoot.
The photographer’s incredible photos show this buffalo has chosen a much smaller target. It was a lion cub. It seems that the African buffalo is trying to trample the lion cub to death.
“When I took the pictures I felt like the buffalo had caught the lion cub,” Mr. Smalman said. There was actually a moment when the lion cub was lying at the foot of the buffalo but it was not injured. The lion cub makes a right corner. After that, it zigzagged to escape the chase of the violent buffalo.
When the buffalo lowered its head, preparing to ram, the small animal was lucky to avoid it. In the end, despite appearing exhausted, the lion returned safely to its mother.
The African buffalo can run at a speed of 60 km/h. They are considered one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.
When injured, this animal tends to become aggressive, get angry and attack back instead of running away. In the wild, usually only lions and large crocodiles hunt buffalo. These predators can also put their lives in danger when attacking wild buffalo.