Footage of a lioness getting attacked by a pack of hyenas highlights the intensity of life in the wild, but viewers have been unable to overlook one particular element of the scene.
Whether your knowledge of wild animals has come from nature documentaries or movies like The Lion King, one thing is for sure: life in the wild is brutal.
One video that shows that all too well was caught in Serena, Kenya, where a lioness could be seen lurking in the tall grass while a group of hyenas ran around in front of her.
All of a sudden, the laughing creatures turned on the lioness and pounced on her, overpowering her with numbers.
Advert
The lioness attempted to fight back, but it wasn't until her pride ran over to help that the lions were able to get the upper hand.
The scene unfolded in clear detail thanks to the proximity of the person behind the camera, with Pareet Shah, who was on the safari, explaining: "Our chief guide Bernard Tompoi spotted the Marsh Pride running towards a few hyenas. "The hyenas didn't make a run in time and three young lions got hold of a hyena pup and killed it within a few seconds."
Shah continued: "They didn't eat it but just played with it for a few minutes before walking off.
Advert
"However as they were walking off, the hyenas were now back in big numbers (over 25 of them within less than 3-4 minutes) and they had cornered one lioness and started brutally attacking her with intent, wounding her.
"She had to wait for a while before help came to her in the form of the rest of the pride. When the rest of the pride came, they nearly got a couple of the hyenas. "Luckily for the lioness, she escaped her death."
While the video offers an eye-opening insight to the risks faced by the animals, viewers were unable to move past fact that there were humans so close to the creatures, watching it all unfold.
Advert
Viewers were left wondering exactly how the cameraperson managed to stand their ground, with one person writing: "The fact that someone was this close and filming it... My god..."
Another joked: "The cameraman standing there like 'f**k i hope they dont see m'."
Thankfully it seems like the hyenas and the lions were too focused on each other to turn their attention to the humans in this case, but it's definitely a gamble to wait and find out!
Emily Brown