The lion cub had just caught a monitor lizard when a buffalo charged and sent it flying through the air.
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The lion didn’t just do one flip through the air, but three flips before landing.
Playful Cub Catches Lizard
Sune explains how they had been spending some time at Sunset Dam when they had seen some lions sleeping in the riverbed. “They were so calm and peaceful, and then suddenly we saw all of them get up and move into the reeds.”
The lions were watching something with the people were unsure of. This was when a young lion came out of the reeds carrying a monitor lizard.
The young paraded with the lizard, walking around with confidence and a measure of bravado!
A buffalo herd was grazing nearby, and one noticed the young lion with the lizard in its jaws.
Troubled by the lizard-carrying lion, the buffalo started to charge. Perhaps it was trying to protect the lizard, or the jovial lion carrying the wriggling lizard appeared threatening.
Whatever its motives, it went straight for a charge. It appeared the lion stood no chance. The sands of the river beds made the lion vulnerable out in the open, and there was no time to get out of the way.
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Buffalo Sends Lion Flying Through The Air
The buffalo pummeled into the cub, sending it flying into the air. “To our absolute astonishment, the buffalo proceeded to get his head right under the puzzled lion and somersault him through the air. It was crazy!” says Sune.
Its body twisted through the air in a display that was both impressive and alarming, and who could say where the lizard had disappeared to?
“I had mixed feelings,” says Sune. “The excitement of everything happening was overwhelming.”
By the time the lion’s body had done a second flip in the air, it was questionable where it would survive the buffalo’s onslaught.
Lion Escapes, Unharmed
However, the young lion landed squarely on its feet and didn’t even pause to catch a breath. It started to run as soon as it had landed.
“I felt bad for the young lion, but luckily he had enough brains to know that he needed to get out of there, and fast, so off he ran.” The other lions were equally wise and scampered off, away from the buffalo.
“I have never seen anything like this in my life, and I’ve been a Kruger visitor since the age of two,” says Sune. “This was definitely a first for me!”
Lions can indeed land on their feet when thrown in the air, much like a house cat! This is because of the species’ evolutionary adaptation and extraordinary physiological abilities.
Still, this little lion deserves a prize for pulling off a well-oiled aerobatic stunt.