Watch: Lion cub falls at enraged buffalo’s feet

A lion cub, all alone and trapped by a herd of 1 000 buffaloes, took to what it thought was the safety of a tree. But one of the buffaloes wasn’t content to walk away and brought the tree crashing down.

Nic Andrew, a wildlife photographer and safari guide, shared his incredible footage and story with Latest Sightings.

According to Andrew, the Mhangeni lion pride at Savanna Private Game Reserve was out on a hunt in the early morning hours. They had their eyes set on a massive buffalo herd.

There were three lionesses and nine cubs of different ages.

“It’s always risky having the little ones tag along for a hunt, but after a certain age, it becomes crucial for them to learn the ropes. Even if they aren’t useful for the hunt, the experience is super important for them.

“This time, something went wrong! All of a sudden, chaos broke out and there was dust everywhere. We had a visual again and could see the massive herd stampeding right towards the cubs,” Andrew told Latest Sightings.

In the panic, one of the cubs was singled out. It tried to hide behind a little bush but was quickly found by the buffaloes. It had no choice but to dash for the nearest refuge – a fallen Marula tree.

The buffaloes followed and surrounded the tree and the cub was distressed.

“The scent of lion infuriated the buffaloes! One of the bigger bulls locked in on the cub, and it became his sole focus.

“What started as a deathly stare-off soon turned into something much more sinister. The cub lost its footing in the tree, causing the bull to lunge forward to gore the cub. His horns missed by only a few centimetres.

“At this point, my heart was in my throat as it seemed inevitable that the little lion cub was going to die. A massive portion of the herd cut the rest of the pride off, so there was nothing that could be done to help the defenceless lion. It was all on its own.

“The buffalo bull reeled back and tried to gore the lion cub a second time. Fuelled by an ancient hatred of lions and adrenaline pumping through his veins, he completely missed the lion, but in the process, destroyed the Marula tree.

“The lion cub fell at the feet of the buffalo. Luckily, the bull was preoccupied with a Marula branch on his back, which could have easily weighed 100kg.

“The rest of the buffalo herd rushed forward, but by that point, the lion cub had managed to quickly dart away unharmed. It rejoined the pride later on.

“A heart-stopping moment that simply comes down to being in the right place at the right time,” said Andrew.