A Tale of Friendship: Brave Buffalo Herd Defies Lions, Catapulting Them Away to Save Their Friend from the Jaws of Death

All looked lost when this young and lone buffalo was attacked by two lions in a South African national park.

But the pair had not bargained on the buffalo’s friends coming to his rescue, and moments later they were tossed several feet in the air before being chased away.

Flyin’ lion! A lion blindsides a smaller buffalo as it emerges from bushes at the Mjejane Reserve in South Africa.

Two on one: The hungry cat doesn’t factor in the first buffalo’s larger friend following behind and gets more than it bargained for

Under attack: All looked lost when this young and lone buffalo was attacked by two lions in a South African national park

Lone: The buffalo had become separated from the herd and become the prey for the two hungry lions

Vicious: The lion sinks his teeth and claws into the buffalo as it stands still after becoming lost

Caught: The dramatic scene was captured on camera in the Mjejane Reserve on the border of the Kruger Park

It was witnessed by Oliver Matheson, 16, and his two friends Yaseen Majal, 17 and Alex Raubenheimer, 17.

Unfold: The attack was witnessed by Oliver Matheson, 16, and his two friends Yaseen Majal, 17 and Alex Raubenheimer, 17

Early morning: The teens had joined Oliver’s father Ian, 52, on an early morning Game drive and didn’t expect to witness a ‘kill’, let alone a battle between a hungry lion and a buffalo that had other ideas

Suspense: ‘We had seen the two young lions on the prowl and were already quite excited to witness nature in action, but nothing could have prepared us for what we saw next’, said Oliver

Determined: The two young lions had been silently stalking the buffalo for about 45 minutes before the incident occurred

In a flash they pounced and began to take down their prey.

Plan: In a flash they pounced and began to take down their prey. The buffalo put up a brave fight, but ultimately looked destined to succumb to the ruthless attack

As the young buffalo fell to the ground, a large bull from the herd sized up the situation, seized his opportunity and attacked the young lion.

Shocked: ‘We visit the park two to three times a year,’ said Oliver’s father, Ian. ‘In all the years we have been coming to the reserve, we have never seen anything close to what we saw that morning’

Desperate: The lion sinks his teeth deeper into the buffalo as it frantically tries to escape with its life

Defend: As the young buffalo fell to the ground, a large bull from the herd sized up the situation, seized his opportunity and attacked the young lion

Flying high: ‘It was insane, he flipped the lion about 5 metres into the air. I had never seen anything like it,’ said Oliver

Animal kingdom rules: Amazingly all of the Animals walked away without any injuries, except perhaps, some bruised egos