Watch: Buffalo calf flees leopard, but can it escape lion?

A visitor to South Africa’s Kruger National Park has captured rare footage showing a buffalo calf fleeing a leopard that was waiting in ambush, only to come face to face with a hungry lion.

Thankfully for the calf, momma buffalo had the situation under control, at least for the time being.

The footage was captured from a vehicle in late February by Matthew Steyn and featured on Facebook by Latest Sightings, where it garnered more than 5 million views. A longer YouTube version accompanies this post.

Viewers can see the leopard crouching in the bushes, awaiting its chance to strike the calf in the riverbed, and the lion stalking in the background.

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“We stopped in the riverbed to watch a herd of buffalo,” Steyn told Latest Sightings. “Among the herd, we noticed a brand newborn calf that was just starting to learn how to walk for the first time. But, shortly after this, my son spotted a leopard in the reeds, right among all the buffaloes.

“After some time, the rest of the herd seemed to move off slowly, leaving the mother and calf behind – alone. The mother and calf were completely unaware of the leopard. But now, not only the leopard, a lion decided to show up.”

Momma buffalo ends the leopard threat quickly, sniffing its presence and chasing the cat away as the lion, sensing an opening, trots warily toward the calf.

But momma buffalo, an extremely powerful and surprisingly agile animal, quickly blocks the lion’s path and repeatedly chases the king of the jungle into the brush.

It’s unclear how this confrontation ended, however, as Steyn’s family lost sight of the animals after they crossed the dirt road in front of their vehicle.

“Unfortunately, we lost sight of the lion following the calf into the bush, but am pretty sure that newborn wouldn’t have lasted long on the run like that and not being able to suckle,” Steyn said. “Weirdly the rest of the herd never came to their rescue and were in fact headed in the opposite direction.”

–Images courtesy of Matthew Steyn, via Latest Sightings