The Queen Of The Forest Dares The King Of The River To Save Her Little Ones

SOURCE: AnimalMozo @ animalmozo.com
NOTE: This article appeared in AnimalMozo with the title:

This Fearless Lion Made The Ultimate Sacrifice For Her Cubs

Lions are among the most protective animals of their young ones. Their fierce protectiveness, especially with their cubs, makes them all the more dangerous to other animals in the wild. They will do whatever they can in their power to keep their young from harm. These series of dramatic photos showcase the acts of a selfless lioness doing everything it can for her cubs.

1. Surveying the Perimeter

 

These lions try to survey a safe passage in order to cross the river. Being cautious enough, they initially check out the riverbanks before moving forward. This place is called Botswana’s Okavanga Delta. Eager to cross the river, the small group of lions aims to take the fastest route.

2. Starting Its Move

Moving alone into the water, the courageous lioness surges in front as it spots a great threat to their crossing plans. She wanted to take the threat head on so that they can all cross the river in the safest possible way.

3. Unleashes Her Fierce Fangs

Being highly determined to take on the threat, the mother lioness shows her huge fangs. This is her sign that she will not back down from any other animal and instead take it on headstrong for a fight. Showing her fangs is also her way of saying that she’s ready to take on the potential threat and that it’s time for a fierce battle.

4. The Giant Leap

Never hesitating, the courageous lioness leaps forward and risks everything in order to protect her own cubs. She uses her great striking abilities and jumps towards the threat. At this point, there’s no backing down and a fight is really imminent. The mother lioness knows that this is the only way to bring her cubs to safety. She risks her life without any hesitation whatsoever. To go bounding into the water to meet the danger head on is just insane!!!

5. Mid-Air Collision

As the lioness presses forward, the big threat, which is a crocodile, moves upward and meets its opponent mid-air. With both striking and biting, they use their offensive arsenals to try to bring each other down. The great leap of the lioness comes with shear strength and determination while the crocodile accepts the challenge without backing down. The lioness uses her front legs to clamp down on the crocodile’s jaws. The crocodile could only absorb the powerful blow’s impact. Imagine just how insane the protective urge had to be in this lioness, to take on a fully grown crocodile without hesitating for even a second!!!

6. The Fierce Battle

The crocodile fights back by closing its mouth and clamping its teeth. The lion’s nose gets caught in between. Still, the big cat tries to push the crocodile down to gain an edge in spite of suffering a painful bite.

7. Pushing the Threat Down

As the lioness battles the deadly crocodile, her cubs successfully cross the river. The diversionary tactics of the lioness works as she continues to scramble with the crocodile. Doing her best to buy her cubs time, she puts all her force in order to pin the crocodile underwater. At this point, the crocodile has its hands full with all the efforts of the mother lioness. It would have a very hard time chasing after the cubs and prey on them.

8. The Leap After the Success

As the crocodile recedes into the water, it fails to perform the death roll and basically admits defeat. The lioness also flees and jumps for dry land. She has accomplished her mission and has protected her cubs from the imminent danger in the river. This only proves how protective and how determined these lions are. They will not hesitate to risk their lives for their young.

9. Back on Dry Land

Pia Dierickx, a wildlife photographer from Belgium, successfully caught the clash between the two fierce predators. Dierickx had been following the lioness and its family even before the battle occurred. She claims that the fight happened so fast that it almost took just a second. She also mentioned that her series of six pictures all took place in one second.

10. The Triumphant Family Reunion

The mother lioness re-joins her family. Her efforts were very fruitful as all of her cubs got to cross the river safely. The protective mother instantly showcased her strength and will to do everything just for her family. This is one amazing triumph of a lioness risking her life for the good of her young. All of them successfully cross the river and reunited on the other side of the riverbanks.

11. Bleeding Face

Even though the lioness successfully helped her pride cross the river safely, she suffers the effects of the fierce battle with the crocodile. Her face drips with blood due to the strong bite from the enemy. Battles in the animal kingdom usually lead up to this. One gets hurt or sometimes both of animals get injured in the process. For this mother lioness, it was all worth it. She will do whatever she can in order to help and protect her pride, even risking her own life while doing so.

According to Dierickx, everything was peaceful until this chance encounter happened. Sometimes, if you blink, you won’t catch events like this. These animal kingdom fights happen in just seconds and ends abruptly. This is how fierce animals in the wild are. They would be willing to risk their lives for a fight in order to survive. After all, it’s survival of the fittest in this kingdom.

Photographs like these are blessings to humanity. They provide great examples of how animals love and cherish their young. They instinctively act towards protecting and fighting for their families no matter what the consequences. Lions such as the one on the photos are very strong animals. They would use all of their strength to get what they want. Even if they battle it out with another predator, the welfare of their cubs would be their first priority. They will hunt for food and also battle any animal on their paths just for their family.