A photographer in Africa captured a tense scene as a lioness attacks a crocodile that was threatening her pride.

The photograher, 48-year-old Pia Dierckz, was observing the lioness and her pride as they prepared to cross a riverbed in Botswana, The Huffington Post reported. His pictures show a dramatic battle as the lioness attacks the crocodile in a violent outburst while still in the water.

Though he was able to capture many images of the battle, Dierckx said it all took place in a flash of action.

“The sequence of six pictures of the real action were taken in one second,” Dierckx told The Daily Mail.

It actually happened so quickly that at first Dierckx didn’t even notice the lioness attacking the crocodile.

“It was only when I downloaded my pictures later that I saw what had happened,” Dierickx told U.K. news service BPNS.

As the lioness prepared to cross the river with her cubs the crocodile appeared, the pictures showed. She sprang immediately into action, attacking the crocodile and grabbing it by the mouth. The two animals struggled in a fierce battle, each biting the other, until the lioness was able to fend off crocodile.

The battle was reminiscent of other scenes of the fierce protective love lionesses have for their cubs. Last year a photographer caught a mother lion rescuing her cubs from a slippery slope, The Huffington Post noted.

The attack Dierckx witnessed had a happy ending as well. The lioness’ attack on the crocodile was successful, and she got her family safely to the other side of the river.

Lioness Attacks Crocodile To Protect Her Cubs In Battle Caught On Camera is a post from: The Inquisitr