These amazing pictures show two lions working to bring down a giraffe. The lions risking their lives as they leap onto the animal – and even get crushed underfoot by its hooves.
A pair of lions risked their lives in an attempt to take down a giraffe – and possibly get crushed underfoot by its hooves
The amazing images were photographed by Michael Cohen, from New York, who was shooting at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – shared by South Africa, Botswana and Namibia – when he came across the hunt
‘I noticed a large giraffe several hundred yards away running in our direction. Just seeing a giraffe running got my heart pumping,’ said Mr Cohen. Above the lions try to go in for the kill
Mr Cohen, from New York, was shooting at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, shared by South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, when he came across the hunt.
He said: ‘Male lions average over 400lb; giraffes, over six times that much, with well over a ton of power behind their kicks. Just their height alone is intimidating.
‘I noticed a large giraffe several hundred yards away running in our direction. Just seeing a giraffe running got my heart pumping.
The front hooves of the giraffe seemed to be misshapen -and it was perhaps this defect which slowed its ability to flee
Mr Cohen said: ‘For me, no other event in nature is as compelling and emotionally packed as seeing a big predator hunt and take down its prey. It’s also the hardest thing to photograph. The giraffe was running for its life, only once stopping to look behind it’
One of the lions leapt onto the back of the giraffe in what the photographer assumed was a futile attempt to bring it down
‘However, the giraffe seemed to avoid stepping on the lion, perhaps to obtain secure footing, or maybe just lacking a predatory instinct, and the lion was able to move away from danger.
‘We kept looking back for the second lion and eventually, a good 40 minutes later, it began its approach, slowly stalking from behind in the low grass. The first lion must have seen it as it got up as if to distract the attention of the giraffe.
The lions tore into the abdomen of the giraffe and not once during the meal did they show any aggression towards one another
‘However, we noticed, as can be seen in the photographs, that the front hooves of the animal seemed to be misshapen. Possibly this defect slowed its ability to flee and attracted the attention of the lions in the first place?
‘After they were fully satiated, eating, resting, and eating again, the lions moved away from the carcass, and as cats do, rubbed heads securing their bond,’ the photographer noted