Incredible footage shows the moment a mother buffalo protects her calf from a leopard, only to run into a massive, hungry male lion moments later!

The surprising sequence of events was caught on camera by Matthew Steyn in Kruger National Park, South Africa. The calf, he reported, was just learning to walk when safari-goers spotted them.

“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,” Steyn told Latest Sightings. “But now, not only the leopard, a lion decided to show up to the party!”

This mother was doing her best under the circumstances, but without the protection of the herd the cards were stacked against her.

“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. Weirdly the rest of the herd never came to their rescue and were in fact headed in the opposite direction.”

Adult buffalo can readily defend themselves against lions, but young are extremely vulnerable — especially away from the herd. Generally, these herd animals stick close together which make it difficult for predators to single out and attack individuals. Calves are almost always gathered in the middle for additional protection. And, the herd will usually respond to distress calls of threatened members to try to rescue it. Unfortunately, the herd never came to the rescue of this duo.

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