It’s a scene straight out of The Lion King.
Pictures captured in Kruger National Park by 37-year-old wild game ranger, Lyle Gregg, depict a scene eerily similar to the stampede scene in The Lion King where a herd of raging wildebeests trampled Simba’s father Mufasa.
The pictures show buffalo herd, not wildebeests, embroiled in a turf war with a lone lion, Barcroft Media reports.
“He had just been forced out by a coalition of five males from a different pride and we were concerned about him because he had taken a huge beating by the coalition just days before,” Gregg said.
“As we sat there watching him I heard buffalo calling and remember saying to my guests that if this is a big herd he could be in trouble.”
When the buffalo got the lion’s scent and moved in on the unwanted guest, he tried his best to duck down in the tall South African grass to hide, but it was too late — the horned brutes already knew he was nearby and began closing in.
“They moved closer towards him until he decided to make a run for it but he was too weak and too sore,” Gregg said. “The attack was relentless from about two dozen of the buffalo.”
“After the initial hit they just gored him on the ground until a big bull jumped on his head,” he added.
Sadly — just like the character in the 1994 animated Disney classic — the lion lost his life during the attack, according to Barcroft.
The lion is survived by four male offspring which have begun breeding with several female lions. Kruger Park Management have spotted the lions roaming free in a massive and unclaimed territory that they now officially call home.