Heather Djunga

A distressed buffalo ran straight into the tyre of a safari vehicle to shake off an attacking male lion, in a magnificent moment of triumph captured on film by Jennifer Coleman and Liechen Tonkin at the Ivory Tree Lodge.

Nature is filled with unexpected moments, where sometimes the very laws of nature appear suspended, as when this blue waxbill bird found itself trapped in the web of a golden orb spider.

Aardvark vs hyena – which will turn out to be faster? Etienne, the Content Creator for the Greater Mabula Private Game Reserve, witnessed a thrilling chase when a hyena tried to catch an aardvark in a recent memorable sighting.

A leopard demonstrated mastery in stealth and accuracy when, ‘seizing the moment’, it ambushed a small buck on the ground beneath a tree, where it had been waiting in silence. This stunning ambush was witnessed by business owner Mikhail Messaris on the Ngobeni loop, between Mopani and Phalaborwa.

A serval kitten’s relentless fight for life was no match against the strength and prowess of a female lioness in an unfortunate sighting filmed by 56-year-old entrepreneur, Rikard Ryden, while on a recent safari in the Maasai Mara.

The dramatic rescue of a damsel in distress was witnessed by Jan Kriel from Jock Safari Lodge recently. A hyena came to the rescue of another hyena when she was surrounded by a pack of cackling wild dogs.

A hyena recently gave its all to steal the prospective prey of a leopard, in full view of a family of tourists near the Letaba Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park.

A jovial baby rhino with a zeal and curiosity for life stole hearts in an incredible, heart-warming sighting captured by 37-year-old International Shipping Business Owner, Darren Sheer, while on safari with his family.

A wildebeest managed to escape the deathly grip of a pride of lionesses, before succumbing to its injuries, in an incredible sighting witnessed by 43-year-old Safari Guide for Nombekana Safaris, Rodney Nombekana, while on safari with clients in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.

A belligerent turtle recently approached two lions with relentless courage at a waterhole, even looking one of the lions square in the eyes before chasing it away!

A lioness recently showed just how far she would go to track the scent of a pack of wild dogs in a rare sighting viewed by 28-year-old accountant, Ricardo de Fonseca, while on a self-drive near Renosterkoppies on the S114, Kruger National Park.

An angry elephant recently caused pandemonium in a a waterhole near the Shingwedzi camp at the Kruger National Park, leaving a baby hippo stranded and vulnerable on the river banks, in an incredible sighting captured by Gordon Crundwell, while on safari with his wife.

A leopard sneaked up on a baby wildebeest, giving the poor creature the fright of its life, before killing it as food for its three-month-old cub.

Three large male lions gave 24-year-old, Candidate Attorney, Simone van Schalkwyk and those with her on a game drive a thrilling viewing experience, when two of them came right up to her car near the Lower Sabie camp in the Kruger National Park.

A tender moment of birth was devastatingly interrupted by a zebra stallion, which after harassing the pregnant female and trying to stop her from giving birth, then turned his aggression on the newly born foal.

A crocodile dared venture too close to a baby elephant for the mother elephant’s liking, and what ensued was a display of motherly devotion and power which left the crocodile lifeless. This miraculous sighting was witnessed by Hans Henrik Haahr while on safari in Zambia.

Three cheetahs waiting in ambush for an impala behind a termite mound; a baby impala lying alongside a leopard which appears almost congenial and paternal towards the little one until it strikes out; a showdown between a leopard and hyena over a distressed impala…

A pregnant impala faced the unimaginable in an incredible encounter with a hippo, a wild dog, and a hyena. While the hippo stepped in to help the poor impala, the animal eventually succumbed to the ferocious attacks against it, and after being killed, its carcass was stolen by a leopard.

Part-time photographic guide Moosa Varachia was left on the edge of his seat when he witnessed a hungry hyena chase a leopard cub in the Kruger National Park, after the cub had been hiding in a bush off the side of the road to evade detection.

The cub was then taken captive in a treetop and brutally killed by the leopard in full view of spectators. The rarity of the sighting, however, compelled Scott to share his experience.