A series of photos of the battle for survival between a teenage hippo and a group of hungry lions were captured by wildlife photographer Andrew Schoeman at Sabi Nature Reserve (South Africa). ).

“I was woken up early in the morning by screams of pain, which I didn’t know at the time were the screams of a hippopotamus,” said Andrew Schoeman. “I followed the source of the cry and saw a young hippo, about 3 to 5 years old, in a shallow puddle, surrounded by three male lions.”

There were many wounds and scratches on the hippo’s body, so Andrew believes that the animal had to go through a fight with a group of lions before running into a puddle deep enough for the lions to not be able to reach. .

“Whenever the hippo wanted to run away to shore, the lions would surround it, forcing the poor animal back into the puddle. I think the hippo had been attacked by the lions before. when I arrived and it had to run into the puddle to hide from the predators,” Schoeman added.

However, the lions still did not give up, but hid behind the rocks near the water’s edge to wait for the hippo to emerge. After a while of hiding in the water, the hippo thought the lions had left, so it left the puddle to get to shore. The lions still silently waited until the hippo left about 50 meters away from the water puddle before starting to rush out and continue attacking its prey.

As a professional wildlife photographer, Andrew Schoeman did not miss the moment of the life-and-death battle between hippos and lions. Let’s look at a series of photos of the young hippo’s attempt to save himself from predators known as the “lord of the steppe”.

The hippo stood in a puddle to avoid the pursuit of the lions. On the hippo’s body there were many wounds caused by the lions.

When a lion entered the water to approach its prey, it was immediately chased away by a hippo.

The lions lay still waiting for the hippos to come ashore.

Wait until the hippo moves away from the puddle before the lion begins to attack. With the advantage of body shape and strength, the hippo can threaten a lion when it approaches him.

But when the two lions rushed to attack, the hippo’s strength advantage was gone.

The hippo tried to rush back into the puddle to escape.

But when all three lions joined forces to attack, the hippo had no chance to survive.

Despite his best efforts to survive, the young hippo eventually had to become a meal for the “lords of the steppe”.