A good old fashioned beat down

Madness! That is the only way to describe it! Pure, sharp toothed, claw extended madness! It all started quite peacefully but ended up being a good old fashioned beat down!
I found a young male lion, moving through the bush with a purpose. At this point, I am sure his intention did not match the eventual outcome! He had picked up on a scent, and was moving quickly towards its owner. Nose to the ground, he gathered momentum, closing in.
Unknowingly, he found himself in the boxing ring. He stood still, quizzically looking at the pride of lions he had been tracking, and watched, confused, as the oldest female in the pride came barrelling towards him, teeth exposed, ready for action. It almost seemed as though he didn’t think she would follow through, because he just stood there, processing. I, however, had fully processed and lifted the camera!
The bush was quite thick, so I drove, hurriedly some would say, to get ringside seats. As luck would have it, I ended up right next to the fight (almost too close – for comfort anyway), and what followed was a blur of shutter; lions fighting; dust; shutter; lions fighting; hair; shutter; lions fighting; teeth; shutter!
Madness!
The young male got taught a serious lesson in approaching unfamiliar prides! The two females got hold of him, and gave him a quick once over, while the sub adults in the pride, although keen to engage, stood in their mothers corner and took it all in!
He managed to pop out of the attack seemingly unhurt. He had some blood on his head, but I don’t think it hurt as much as the bruised ego!
Somewhere in all the madness, the shutter clicked at the right time, and I got some pretty cool images!

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

Lions fighting

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