Tourists in South Africa recently captured astonishing footage, as an unsuspecting male lion faced off with a crocodile when it entered the predator’s aquatic domain.
According to Grind TV , the video was captured from the H10 bridge near the Lower Sabie River in South Africa’s Kruger National Parks. It depicts the young male lion standing by the edge of a river, inspecting the water before entering. As soon as the lion is in the water, a crocodile raises its head above the surface, swimming after the large cat.
Tourists can be heard exclaiming as the crocodile sneaks up behind the lion, silently stalking the animal. The lion turns its head as it swims, appearing to glance in the crocodile’s direction as it approaches.
As it closes in, the crocodile leaps at the lion, seemingly catching the predator between its powerful jaws and dragging it underwater. The reptile’s victory is short-lived, however, and after just a few seconds the lion emerges from the water, shaking itself off and bounding toward the river’s edge. The crocodile, in contrast, seems almost stunned as it slowly moves away from the site of the attack.
Lion Attacked By Crocodile While Crossing River http://t.co/YPk7wl5dcM #Kruger #SouthAfrica #Wildlife pic.twitter.com/2avRZLKnxb
— MenStuff (@MenStuffZA) November 18, 2014
Kruger Sightings acknowledged the video in a post on Facebook, describing the footage as “incredible.”
“All we can say is, lions should always look both [ways] before crossing the river,” they noted.
Video: Lion blindsided by crocodile in river escapes. http://t.co/GMVYdfFWwl pic.twitter.com/UoPQWuqW5B
— GrindTV (@GrindTV) November 21, 2014
According to the Express , 18-year-old Nadav Ossendryver, from Johannesburg, owns the website where the clip was originally posted. The video has since made its way to YouTube, where it has been viewed over 180,000 times.
“It was really incredible. Thousands of people share so many videos on our app, but this was one was special,” he observed. “I just thought it was amazing the way the crocodiles reacted when the lion appears. When he goes into that water, you just know something is going to happen.”
Crocodile versus Lion – tourist films the brutal battle http://t.co/g3PotdmyfE pic.twitter.com/CN1oo3t7mK
— ObjectivePerspective (@PlessisJacques) August 21, 2014
Earlier this year, a trio of lions were filmed battling a crocodile in Kenya over the corpse of an elephant that had died at the edge of a river. As the Inquisitr noted at the time, the lions bested the crocodile in the dramatic confrontation, which was filmed in the Samburu National Reserve.
[Image: Mercury Press & Media, via the Daily Mail ]
