A lioness was filmed pulling her cub away from a crocodile-infested river just seconds before it got swept away in the strong currents.
When it comes to viral videos on social media in 2019, the ‘lion’s share’ has quite literally belonged to lions.
In April, a shocking video showed a tourist nearly losing his arm while he tried stroking a caged lioness in a South African zoo. The man was lucky to have saved himself from the lioness’ grip as she got distracted by the screams of terrified spectators.
However, the most awe-inspiring lion video of the year was shot inside New York’s Bronx zoo, where a woman climbed into an enclosure to have an up-close and face to face experience with a lion. The woman was seen waving and making funny gestures at the lion, who appears to be a little gobsmacked by the unexpected trespass. Luckily, she wasn’t attacked as the lion just stood there stunned.
However, the latest lion video to go viral on social media doesn’t feature any human. It’s a daring rescue video that shows how a mother lioness protects her cubs.
A lioness was filmed snatching her cub away from a crocodile-infested river just seconds before it got swept away in the strong currents.
The lioness was crossing a river with her three cubs when one disappeared under the water.
The mother quickly grabbed the cub by its neck and pulled it out of the water. Another cub disappeared under the surface but managed to re-emerge quickly.
Watch video:
The incredible footage was captured by Luca Bracala at the River Ewaso Ny’iro in Kenya.
Luca said it is very rare for cubs to cross a river. Even his guide had not seen anything like this in the past 10 years.
“The photos show a mother lioness crossing the river for the first time, with her three cubs. It’s extremely rare. The guide who has been doing this job for ten years said he’s never seen it happen in his life. The cubs were just playing along the shore before they got into the river,” said Luca.
He added there were crocodiles in the river but, luckily, they didn’t attack the mother or her cubs.