People come from all over the world to see the animals who call Kruger National Park in South Africa home. Visitors are never disappointed, and one recently captured a moment so rare that even guides have never witnessed it.

A baby elephant was separated from its mother when she hurried across a road. As the little one tried to catch up to its mother it found itself face to face with three lions.

Brent Schnupp, a paramedic firefighter from Virginia, was the lucky guy who recorded the unbelievable encounter and shared the story with Latest Sightings.

The safari group headed out early one morning in hopes of seeing as many animals in their natural environment as possible. The group first encountered a male lion who was joined by a younger male and female lion by a small puddle.

Schnupp recalls, “They were seemingly enjoying a peaceful moment of coexistence. However, the tranquility was short-lived. Our attention was drawn to an adult female elephant emerging from the thicket ahead of us. She appeared to be in distress and was crossing the road with great haste. Little did we know at the time that she had left behind her vulnerable calf.”

The lions “sensing an opportunity” went in pursuit of the calf as well. The younger male lion led the way and found the calf. The other two lions seemed uninterested but followed along.

The baby elephant froze for a moment deciding whether to run or face the lions and decided to do both. The courageous calf took off running but when the male lion got too close the calf would turn and face him. This continued for a bit, which Schnupp captured on video.

It was an intense few minutes as the group watched with bated breath to see what would happen. The “standoff” continued until finally the lions gave up.

“In my six years of visiting Kruger National Park, I’ve never witnessed anything quite like this. Even our seasoned guides from Leo Vantage were astonished, admitting that they had never seen lions chasing a baby elephant during their entire time in Kruger,” shared Schnupp.

He encourages other visitors to be patient and keep their distance for a chance to witness spectacular moments like this.

Check out the viral video below and don’t forget to share!