WorldWildWeb

This is the incredible moment a gazelle mum charged headfirst at a huge eagle to try and save her newborn baby. Safari guide Kevin Sayialel was guiding guests resident at Great Plains Conservation's Mara Plains Camp, Kenya, on October 27 when he spotted a martial eagle with prey in its claws. The extraordinary footage filmed by Kevin showed the brave mother running directly at the eagle, whose wingspan can reach eight feet long. Despite repeatedly sending the eagle flying into the air to escape, unfortunately, the gazelle’s fawn, only a few days old, could not be saved. Kevin said: “In my 14 years as a guide for Great Plains Conservation, I have never seen anything like this before. “We had just started our evening game drive when I spotted the eagle diving. I drove straight over, where the eagle was fighting with a Thomson's gazelle. “The fight lasted for a few minutes, and eventually, the eagle ended up taking the fawn. “Just like any mother, gazelles will defend their young as much as they can, but this actual sort of action I had never seen before.”

A lucky hyena barely escaped being eaten by an angry hippo that it had mistaken for being dead. Safari guide Carlos Ismail was leading a tour in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, on November 1 when he spotted an opportunistic scavenger wading through some water. Tense footage shows the hyena creeping up on the behind of a seemingly immobile hippo half submerged under the algae. Suddenly the hyena turned tail and just in time as the hippo swung its huge body around and chased the pesky animal from the water almost catching it in its powerful jaws. Carlos said: “This hyena was very lucky. It was on its own and I think it thought that the hippo was dead and would be an easy meal. “It just managed to escape in time before it was caught in the hippo’s huge jaws. It barely managed to make it to dry land. “I have been a guide now for nine years and have never seen anything like this before. Although I have seen the same hippo chase after a lioness. “They are not scared of anything!”

A fearless buffalo survived an epic hour-long attack by six lions by dragging them into the middle of a lake and impaling one on its horns. Robin van Stenis and his wife Nicole were visiting Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana, when two lions chased prey past their vehicle and into the path of four more predators waiting by some water. Dramatic footage shows the big cats leap on to their prey’s back while the buffalo heroically dragged them into the lake step by agonising step. Despite having wrestled most of the lions off, one persistent predator clung on to the buffalo but was thrown up on to its massive antlers as a result. After more than an hour of battling, the buffalo eventually threw the lion off its head and into the water before it gave up and ran off to safety. Robin said: “Nicole and I looked at each other and started laughing. We couldn’t believe what a beautiful and crazy sighting happened in front of us. “The buffalo was chased towards the water and four of the lions by another two lions. At one point all six were hanging on the back of the buffalo. “The battle continued, except five lions decided the buffalo was too strong and chose to let go. This left one lion alone, biting down hard on its ass. “At that point, the buffalo swayed with his horns towards the lion and impaled the pelvic region of the lion. “We could see the horn going between his legs and out on the outer side of his back leg, and we were sure the lion wouldn’t survive this fight. “The lion then decided to grab the face and mouth of the buffalo, trying to suffocate him, and in this position, they stood, fought, and battled for over an hour. “Suddenly, with all his last power, the buffalo shook his head and swung the lion into the air. The buffalo was free. “The lion looked as shocked as we were, and instinct took over; he tried to attack the buffalo again. “But the buffalo was done and charged the lion until he runoff, with just a minor limp in his back leg. “We believe both animals survived. The lion had not much blood loss and was just slightly limping. It had eaten half a hippo so he could rest and heal for a while. “The buffalo lost part of its tail and probably would not want to eat for a few days but survived.”

An angry crocodile lunged at elephants two times while they were drinking from a waterhole. Guests at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Zimbabwe, were treated to an epic sight on January 29 as a herd of elephants enjoyed a drink just 50metres from the viewing deck. Amazing footage – which has been viewed more than 273,000 times online – shows a huge reptile suddenly lunge from the water and bite at one of the massive animal’s legs. Just a few moments later the same crocodile lunged at another elephant, this time sending four of the animals scurrying for safety. A spokesperson for the lodge said: “Most who saw it happen were astonished, while others understood that the crocodile was behaving in a territorial manner and protecting his space. “This scene also highlighted the realities of nature where often survival depends on quick reflexes. “The general belief is that the crocodile was not trying to hunt the elephants, but that this is a defensive act. “This waterhole is small unlike a river or lake, and so there is a restriction as to where the crocodile can go to get away from the elephants when they wade into the water. “Hence its best form of defence is attack.”

An incredible rare sighting captured the moment a leopard and crocodile clashed over a meal before calmly lying down next to each other. Nilan Udayanga was leading a tour through Yala National Park, Sri Lanka, on February 9 when he spotted a very unusual interaction between two apex predators. Amazing footage shows a leopard bare its sharp teeth at a three-metre-long crocodile that was protecting a wild boar it had caught. The big cat lunged at the reptile before thinking better of it and playfully rolling on to its back right next to its rival. Nilan said: “This is such a rare interaction between the two species. I have been leading tours in Yala National Park for six year and never seen it happen before. “The crocodile had caught a boar the previous night and was slowly making its way through its meal when the leopard appeared. “The two were adults and clearly wanted superiority over the food. The leopard was hoping to take the prey when it lunged at the crocodile. “But pretty quickly it decided it wouldn’t win this battle and just lay down next to them both.”

This is the scary moment a charging hippo bit down hard on a boat's rear motor with its massive jaws. Jackie Boshoff was on a river tour down the Chobe River, Namibia, on March 22 when the group came across a group of hippos bathing in the water. Dramatic footage shows the moment a large male suddenly charged at their boat causing the skipper to try and escape. Unfortunately the boat ran aground leaving it at the mercy of the huge hippo who then chomped down on the outboard motor leaving the plastic surroundings cracked. Jackie, 55, said: "I actually couldn't believe what was happening in front of me. You hear and read about this stuff, never thinking it could happen to you. "Everyone on board the boat actually remained very calm, including me. Fortunately nobody panicked. "We approached the pod of hippos, like our skipper always does, and has done for over 13 years in this channel. The pod is known to sometimes be aggressive, like hippos tend to be. "Our skipper is always on alert for that kind of behaviour. We were quiet on the boat, not making a lot of noise, and the engine was off as we approached them from a safe distance. "Then suddenly one particular male hippo begun chasing the boat out of nowhere. "When our skipper realised there was a potential problem of him hitting the boat, he turned the boat and headed away. "But because he was watching the hippo and not the front of the boat, we went into shallow water and the propellor got stuck in the mud. "Only later when we reviewed the footage could we see what appeared to be a small calf following the male hippo as it charged us. "It could be a very young calf and he was just super protective of his young."

A group of tourists were left ‘distressed’ as two grizzly bears brutally battled over mating rights mere metres away from their boat. Vanessa Obran and her husband John were on a tour of a bay in British Columbia, Canada, on June 3 when they spotted two bears mating on the shore. Dramatic footage captured the moment a jealous male sprinted across the shale and tackled one of the mating pair and pinned it to the ground. In an epic 17 minute encounter the two testosterone fuelled bears tore chunks of flesh off each other with their teeth and paws and even took their fight into the water. Vanessa, from Australia, said: “While filming, the violence made me feel physically sick to the stomach. “I love bears so much and the violence was so hard to watch. There are parts of the video that I don’t watch now as it is distressing. “One minute we were watching a tranquil scene of two bears mating on the beach. We thought how lovely, that is something you don’t see very often. Then all hell broke loose. “They were fighting over mating rights. Both bears had a lot of injuries, cuts and bites. They were about 8ft tall on their hind legs. “I had filmed a bear fight before in Alaska but it was only a few swipes. Nothing as brutal as this. “Having said that, I knew what a rare occurrence this was to witness and I feel so lucky to have been there at the right time and right place. “To see them fight for so long is nearly unheard of. Wildlife guides we have since spoken to, who have been watching bears for 30 years, have never seen anything like it. "We made our first trip to Yellowstone National Park in 2012 where we saw our first wild grizzly bear. We were hooked. “Since then we go to the US and Canada every two years and spend up to three months going to the National Parks to see bears, moose, wolves. Any animal at all we are happy to spot. “It becomes an addiction. It is so thrilling to spot an animal in the wild.”

A male lion managed to fight off three rivals on his own after wandering into their territory. Perdita Lübbe-Scheuermann was on safari in Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa, in April 2023 when a big cat walked into enemy terrain. Dramatic footage filmed by Perdita just 10 metres away shows the encroaching lion surrounded by two more before another pounced at his back. Despite the numbers disadvantage, the singular lion viciously swiped back at the trio and flashed his sharp teeth to drive them all away. Perdita said: “I’ve been visiting South Africa on safari for more than 20 years but I had never seen lions fight like this before. “To see it all happen just 10 metres from our jeep was extremely special. Fortunately none of the lions were injured. “The one lion that encroached into the territory did fight off the other three but after hanging around for another 20 minutes it left.”

A spider caught a wasp on a ‘speechless’ dad’s windowsill before ripping it apart in its web. James Power had just released the flying bug from his daughter’s bedroom in Hertfordshire on April 8 when a lurking arachnid struck. Dramatic footage captured the moment a spider caught the wasp in its web before methodically pulling its prey in closer and closer. After climbing on top of the wasp the spider then tore its victim’s head from its thorax while it was completely trapped. James said: “Watching this spider take down a wasp on my windowsill left me feeling like David Attenborough. “I'm normally the type of guy who would try and narrate in a funny voice or something and make a joke out of it. “But watching this I was actually more or less speechless while it was happening. “The wasp was on the inside of the window slapping against it trying to get out. “I opened the window and as I closed it, the wasp flew to the sill and then the spider appeared and the fight started. It carried on for eight minutes or so.”

Dermot Kavanagh, from London, was visiting Kruger National Park, South Africa, on April 11 when he spotted the six dogs enjoying a drink. Dramatic footage shows a crocodile suddenly spring forward with its jaws gnashing at the nearest wild dog causing them all to jump backwards. Surprisingly the dogs continued to goad the massive reptile leading the crocodile to launch itself forward for a second time eventually causing the nuisances to leave. Dermot said: “We have never seen a crocodile launch out of the water like that before, let alone at wild dogs. It was definitely a once in a lifetime sighting. “Usually wild dog sightings are very quick and they disappear into the bush as quick as you saw them. We were with these guys for around an hour in total. “My wife and I just looked at each in disbelief, knowing we had seen something special. “The altercation with the crocodile went on for around five minutes. It started with the wild dogs drinking, the crocodile then approached before launching out of the water. “We thought the wild dogs would run away but then they started goading the croc, which in turn launched again. “Eventually the dogs saw sense and carried on with their hunt. We followed them for another 5kilometres or so before they chased some impala into the bush.”

A brave antelope survived a crocodile attack before charging headfirst at a hunting lioness. Tane Bailey was on safari in Mkuze Game Park, South Africa, when a lioness crawled past his jeep stalking a nearby nyala. Dramatic footage shows the predator sprint towards its prey, only for the nyala to seek safety in a nearby lake, only to alert crocodiles resting in the water. Having leaped into the air to avoid the snapping jaws of a crocodile, the nyala then ran at the waiting lioness with its antlers, eventually chasing it away and saving its life. Tane said: “As it unfolded, I was definitely rooting for the nyala, overcoming what were seemingly impossible odds. “It really was the definition of being between a rock and a hard place. Ultimately I was happy to see the nyala get away. “Once the lioness noticed the nyala, she waited for her moment and began to chase. The nyala ran into the water to escape the lioness. “As it hit the water, the crocodiles reacted immediately. As the crocs neared the nyala, they submerged and travelled the last 15m or so under water. “As they attacked, the nyala escaped, but not unscathed. They had injured the nyala's back left leg. “This is when the nyala began its 'posturing' - trying to look as large as possible - making every attempt to not let the Lioness see that it was injured. “After about 15 minutes, the lioness gave up, letting the nyala survive for another day.”