King Of The Jungle Fights Off Challenge By Younger Males With Help Of Loyal Lioness
This is the moment two younger lions take on the older king of the jungle who manages to escape what seems like certain death when one of his lioness wives helps him out.
The incident was filmed at the Madikwe Game Reserve in the South African province of North West last month.
In the footage, the two younger lions, known locally as the Addos, attack the king of the pride Kwandwe, who is initially pinned to the ground and appears a goner.
Safari guide Declan Morris, 25, who filmed the video, told Newsflash: “The fight was over territory. The two younger Addo males tried to chase out the older dominant male, Kwandwe, and attacked first.”
He said the two younger males were apparently also frustrated at the fact that the females were not interested in them while the older male was still in charge.
He added that for a while it looked as if he was a goner but they had not finished him off quickly enough.
He said: “As this did not happen, Kwandwe had time to resist until his partner Monomoholo came to his aid and they caught one of the two Addos and knocked him to the ground, biting him.
“In this video, they did not kill the lion, but they did kill him a few months later, and it is sad to say goodbye to one of the Addo males, but this is nature and nature can be brutal.
“I think going 2 against 1 and winning they had confidence, but it didn’t take long before it was Kwandwe and Monomoholo, and so they no longer had the advantage and were put back in their place.”
It Is unclear why the female lion decided to help the older male, but often when a new male takes over, he will kill any cubs from the previous pride leader so that their mothers will come back into season sooner.