In an extraordinary battle of survival both lion and Buffalo end up exhausted and bloodied in an epic long hour battle of endurance as both animals fight till the end until their fatal wounds finally succumbs to their death
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| 6 yr old Lion vs Adult buffalo Death Match |
Jungle survivals are always too harsh especially for lone predators who often risk their lives to take on someone bigger their size to survive especially when they are desperate and starving, calling for that one last call of hunt or die situation. This was the case in safari region of South Luangwa National Park, Zambia where a desperate and starving lion kicked out of his pride (herd of lions) attacked a lone female buffalo with all his might. The king of jungle having grown weak due to starvation desperately tried to bring down the huge buffalo down in a hour long battle of endurance as the female buffalo used its lethal horns to wound the lion with huge blows while the lion kept clinging on to buffalo's mouth with its claws and teeth despite being gored by the buffalo's horns. While both animals are covered in blood both desperately try to fight each other despite a long hour of exhaustion and fatal wounds as the lion kept biting the buffalo and clinging on to it with its claws while he buffalo kept tossing the
big cat in air with its horns.
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| 6 yr old starving male lion attacking a lone female buffalo in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia |
However the long battle off endurance was foiled when a group of buffaloes arrived to the female buffaloes rescue as they delivered a deadly blow to the exhausted lion freeing the female buffalo from the Lion's deadly attack.Shortly after which both the animals succumbed to their deaths having suffered some major damage during the epic battle of endurance and survival. The dramatic encounter was witnessed by safari guide Matt Armstrong-Ford of Eastbourne who took pictures of the nerve wrecking encounter of exhausted lion and buffalo fighting each other in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia.
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| The exhausted lion biting and clawing on to buffalo's mouth while both are covered in blood |
Matt Armstrong-Ford a photographer who works for Shenton Safaris as a guide and camp manager came across the extraordinary battle of single lion trying to take down a healthy adult buffalo. Usually lions take down buffaloes or creatures bigger then them in a pride with the help of other lions but here the hungry lion was trying to take down the buffalo all by himself and that to when he was very weak. Actually the fighting lion was known to Matt and he knew his story as to how the poor lion suffered from skin disease known as mange and had to detach from his pride. Basically Matt could relate to the struggling lion as his friend wanting him to win the fight as he photographed the two fighting each other.
How Lions Attack other Animals
The lion was hiding in the bushes near the lake waters to attack the lone buffalo who came to quench its thirst but instead found blood thirsty lion who jumped on to her biting and clawing desperately with all it's power to bring her down. For about an hour both the animals tried their best to survive the battle as the lion kept hold of his grip looking to an opportunity to deliver the killer blow while the buffalo kept the lion off with its lethal horns throwing him off now and then. As the two animals grew exhausted at one point the buffalo was successfully able to shake off the lion but instead of running away kept staring the lion for about sometime before they went on to fight again because the buffalo knew running will be a waste as it was too exhausted and might just give the lion an opportunity to deliver the killer blow.
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| The buffalo tries to shake off the lion but the lion continues to keep a grab on buffalo's mouth with it's teeth |
It was later into the battle when the group of buffaloes looking at the incredible battle from a distance decided to go for the female buffaloes rescue as one of the buffaloes delivered a deadly blow to the worn out lion giving the female buffalo an opportunity to escape along with the rest of the herd as the lion lay on the ground smeared in blood, defeated and trying to catch his breath.
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| The herd arrives to the female buffalo's rescue delivering the lion a fatal blow and ending the hour long battle |
Matt having known the lion was emotional to see his poor friend suffer as the defeated king of jungle dragged his badly wounded body under the bushes trying to attend to them by licking, while the majestic big
cat gave a special look for the photo and died two days later succumbing to its fatal wounds while the buffalo died two weeks later of the spread infection throughout her body.
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| The Majestic big cat all smeared in blood and defeated gave it's all but unfortunately luck was not on his side and died days later |
So altogether the battle of endurance between the lion and buffalo ended up with both dying later on . It was quite unfortunate for the young lion who suffered from a skin disease and had to fight the buffalo when he was weak but certainly was brave and had a pride of the king of the jungle as he chose to hunt for a bigger animal instead of a smaller one. :'( If both were supposed to die than the herd should have never arrived to the aid of the female buffalo and let the two decide who wins at the end. Must say it was one hell of a
wildlife encounter that you will ever witness in a safari where a lion goes all alone instead of going in a pride to prey on such huge animals. It also reminds me of the
brave baby elephant that defended himself against 14 lions, also reminding of the battle at Kruger where a herd of buffaloes protected a calf from a huge pride of lions and a crocodile.
Pride of Lions fight Crocodile and Herd for Buffalo calf