A trio of lazy lions decided that they didn’t need to do the hard work in order to enjoy a nice evening meal after stealing food from a leopard.
Hunt: A leopard is successful in collecting its evening meal after stalking an impala in the Sabi sand game reserve in South Africa
Climb: After gathering its kill, the leopard impressively hoists the impala into a tree
Supper: The leopard now has his evening meal in place, however, he is not the only one around
Safe spot: The leopard hides his catch in a tree but he has now become aware that he has company in the form of three lions
Free food: The lions come bounding towards the tree and frantically start to climb
Fight: Once the lions climb the tree, their attention turns to fighting each other for the impala
Mr Schoeman, who lives in Nelspruit, South Africa, said: ‘I have never seen lions climb trees like this but I know they can do it, so I was not surprised by the behaviour but it was great to see in real life.
Wildlife: The photographs were taken by wildlife photographer Andrew Schoeman, who described the lions as comical as they struggled to balance as they attempted to take the impala for themselves