INCREDIBLE pictures have revealed the desperate two-hour struggle of a baby giraffe as it tried to escape a group of hungry young lionesses learning how to hunt.
Incredible images show a pride of lions chasing down their prey in South AfricaCredit: mediadrumworld.com
One of the predators can be seen grabbing the baby giraffe by the throatCredit: mediadrumworld.com
The predators tried time and again to take the giraffe down but it kept getting back upCredit: mediadrumworld.com
With a 286-pound lion closing in, the giraffe sprints behind its mum, using its instinctive self-defence mechanism to kick the predator in the face.
The big cats are seen to take down their prey numerous times – only for the baby to escape their grasp to spring back to its feet and reignite the chase.
Eventually, the hungry beasts are pictured grabbing hold of the baby’s neck before finally managing to drag it to the ground for the last time.
The whole pride can then be seen gathering round to tuck in after their prey finally succumbs following the extended struggle.
The stunning images were taken by special project coordinator Karl-Heinz Fechter, 43, from Pretoria, South Africa.
Karl took the pictures using his Canon 650D camera at the Balule Game Reserve near Hoedspruit, in the north-east of the country.
He said: “This was an amazing siting, even though we did experience the brutality of nature.
“It was clear from the first moment, as we stumbled across this event that the young one would not survive.
“This pack of lions had killed and devoured a buffalo the previous day and they were not in immediate need for food.
“Yet the group decided to go for the young giraffe anyway.
“The mother of the young giraffe valiantly tried to protect the young one.
“The lions certainly had a healthy respect for the kicking ability of the giraffe and every time she turned around the lions scattered.
“She tried to show the calf by example how to get away – unfortunately the calf’s speed was no match for the lions.
“It was amazing to see how this young giraffe picked up on her mother actions and started to kick with its front legs to chase the lions away.”
The pictures begin with the Giraffe and its mother wandering through the bushCredit: mediadrumworld.com
A pride of hungry lions appear and lock eyes on their intended preyCredit: mediadrumworld.com
The ferocious beasts chase the baby around for some two hours as they try to subdue itCredit: mediadrumworld.com
The baby copies its mother and uses its powerful kick to keep the lions at bayCredit: mediadrumworld.com
Eventually the big cats take down their prey for the final timeCredit: mediadrumworld.com
The pride finally gathers round to feast on the baby after the hunt in South Africa’s Balule Game ReserveCredit: mediadrumworld.com
Karl-Heinz also revealed his surprise that the younger lions didn’t seem to possess the knowledge and skills to kill the baby giraffe and needed some help from their more experienced elders.
He said: “One would have thought that lions instinctively know how to hunt and kill but even the king of nature still has to learn how to become an effective hunter.
“Countless times the young lions chased after the calf, tackling it to the ground without executing the lethal blow.
“It was only after the older lions decided that it was time to finish this that they got involved to demonstrate how it should be done and the calf was finally killed.
“There were a few times when we thought that this must surely be it but the calf got up again to our disbelief.
“I love the dynamic nature of wildlife photography and never knowing 100 per cent what animal you will see and what the situation will be like.”