This is the incredible moment in Zimbabwe when a brave mother elephant battled two lionesses to prevent her young from being eaten.
The lionesses were hunting warthog when a newborn elephant wandered out of her herd, according to photographer Kevin Dooley, who photographed the sights in Mana Pools National Park last month.
The baby elephant began chasing the jaguar without noticing the warthog, according to Mr. Dooley, before being pinned to the ground by lions attempting to k.i.l.l. it.
While a warthog would be eaten in a couple of hours, a young elephant might have fed the lions for days, according to Mr. Dooley.
‘One of the lionesses was pregnant and in desperate need of nourishment,’ he added.
Elephants are a difficult species for lions to kill, and generally lions must grow up in a pride dedicated to eating elephants; otherwise, they would avoid them and seek for smaller, less risky prey.’
The lions easily took the elephant down; they both leaped on the elephant’s back and forced it to the ground, then they put their whole weight on the elephant and began immobilizing it.
‘The baby elephant began to yell, and another elephant came a minute or two later, attempting to save its smaller brother.
‘However, the lions refused to give up their prey, and the kid ultimately gave up and ran in fear.’ Suddenly, the mother elephant arrived, and in a fit of rage and power, she charged at the lions who were attempting to harm the baby. The mother elephant yelled angrily and threw dust into the air as one of the lionesses quickly escaped.
‘The second lioness was clinging to her mother elephant and roaring at her. The elephant, on the other hand, did not flee, and the lion soon gave up. ‘An enraged adult elephant was no match for a lion,’ the lion realized. As the lions left, the mother elephant lifted the baby with her trunk. She sniffed the infant and double-checked. The lions ran for cover in the surrounding shrubs. The lions raced as the entire herd of six or seven elephants dashed into the bushes.
‘I knew I was seeing a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’ ‘I was too concerned with attempting to shoot pictures to see anything else.’ Before the mother came, I was a little sad, but I realized that lions must eat. ‘I knew the lions had no chance when I saw the mother elephant rushing them.’
