While lion is commonly referred to as the king of the jungle or the king of all beasts, even the mightiest of rulers eventually have to face their subjects if they lose their respect.
And that is exactly what happened in West Midlands Safari Park in Worcester where tourists have filmed the shocking moment when a pride of lionesses surrounded their male and began biting into his flesh until the animal was lying on the ground motionless.
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As the witnesses of the attack explained, the intimidating male lion was outnumbered and clearly in a lot of pain as the lionesses had a go at him.
Watch the amazing video below:
Video credit: SWNS
While it is unclear what the exact reason for their attack was, experts suggest that it is not uncommon for lionesses to turn against their male leader if they find him incapable of ruling their pride any longer.
The incident was caught on camera by Mya Beverstock, a 19-year-old amateur photographer who visited the safari park with her parents.
“I decided to go to the safari park with my mum and dad to take some pictures of the lions. We had been sat there for a few minutes when we noticed these two male lions sitting on top a rock growling at something down below.
“We drove around a little bit and I noticed these female lionesses surrounding a male. All of a sudden they just pounced.
“They were biting at his back legs and his neck and pinning him to the ground, it looked really vicious and you can see in his eyes he thought he was going to die,” the teen said according to Unilad.
“Within a flash, safari jeeps were there surrounding the lionesses. There were three vehicles, one was honking its horn while another sprayed an extinguisher.
“There could be any number of reasons why they were attacking him. It could be that they thought he was too old to be their leader or it could have been over food. He could have tried it on with one of the females, who knows, but they looked angry and pounced as if they are going in for the kill.
“It was incredible to watch the king of the jungle looking so vulnerable. In the photos you can see him almost pleading for help,” Mya continued.
She added:
“He had bite marks and cuts on his back legs, he was pretty messed up. Its something you’d be lucky to see in Kenya, yet alone a British safari park.
“You could see car windows going up and almost hear doors locking as it happened, it was just really intense to watch and listen to the roars. We went back around later in the day and the females were nowhere to be seen. So they must have ushered them all indoors to protect the three males.
“It was quite an experience which really took your breath away. I never expected to see anything like that. You could see the terror in his eyes.”
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