A set of incredible images captured the moments a lost junior elephant was pounced upon and killed by a lion cub hunting with its pack.
The young lion was on the look out for food near a watering hole at the Makalolo pan in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park.
When a junior elephant strayed away from the rest of its group, the cub saw his chance and rushed in to take it down.
The lost junior elephant is helpless as the lion cub gets ready to pouce on its prey in the arid Hwange National Park
The attack took place in Zimbabwe’s dry season with animals gathered around a watering hole. The elephant strayed away from its herd leaving it vulnerable to predators
Photographer and conservationist, Brent Staplekemp, was studying the lions with Oxford’s WildCRU when he took the images during a trip to Zimbabwe
The young elephant struggles from the grasp of the cub. Lions tend to avoid tackling fully grown elephants but target youngsters away from the herd during hunts
‘The elephant realised something was up and tried to chase the lion before turning and fleeing,’ the photographer said
A close up image of the lion digging its claws into the hapless elephant who is about to be grounded. The dry season brought a number of elephants to the watering hole making them more susceptible to attack
‘The lion caught him and brought him down before a lioness came to help,’ said Staplekemp on the killing
The pride are said to have killed a buffalo and warthog during this hunting session although the lions failed in there attempts to down giraffes
The scene was captured by 38-year-old wildlife photographer and conservationist Brent Staplekemp, who was studying the lions with Oxford’s WildCRU.
Brent said: ‘It was the very height of the dry season and so the lions just had to sit at the waterhole and wait for the desperate animals to come and drink.
‘We saw two kills, a buffalo and a warthog, as well as several attempts on giraffes and buffaloes. It was a meat feast.
‘Then this lone elephant calf left the waterhole and the young male lion took the opportunity.
‘I was at ground level standing behind my open door of my cruiser.
‘The elephant realised something was up and tried to chase the lion before turning and fleeing.
‘The lion caught him and brought him down before a lioness came to help.
‘These lions were very young and perhaps this was their first day as independent hunters without their mothers to help.
‘Lions killing elephants is a fairly new concept in Hwange but a phenomenon that has appeared because of the very high density of elephants around waterholes in the peak of the dry season.
‘Often the calves are lost in amongst the huge numbers of elephants at the waterholes and the lions have learnt to sit and wait for these unprotected youngsters.
‘It does tug at the heart strings but this is a result of man’s artificial management of nature and the lions are seizing on a survival opportunity too.’