Dinner bites back! Elephant chases lion up a tree during safari
This scaredy-catlion was forced to take cover in a tree after being set upon by an angry elephant.
In an unusual twist of fate, the terrified lioness was filmed sprinting through the Central Serengeti in Tanzania with a plucky elephant hot on its tail.
Seconds later she can be seen darting up a tree and trying to take cover in the sparse branches, while the determined elephant reaches up with its trunk and grabs at the frightened feline.
The tables turned on the lioness when she was separated from a pride of lions that were feeding on a kill.
She took refuge in a tree but when she suddenly decided to make a dash for freedom, one brave elephant gave chase, following the lioness for a kilometre, before she was once again forced to seek safety in another tree.
The remarkable moment was filmed by husband and wife, Dalida and Andrew Innes, who were on safari with a company called Duma Explorer at the time.
Dalida, 41, filmed the extraordinary chase while Andrew, 47, took pictures.
The couple, who live in Sydney, Australia, said they were stunned as they watched the dramatic chase, which lasted at least four minutes.
Dalida, who is originally from France, told Caters News: "We were looking at a pride of lions who were feeding on a kill they'd just made.
"In the distance there was a herd of elephants surrounding a tree and a lioness was in the tree.
"She had become separated from the pride of lions we were watching.
"All of a sudden the lioness in the tree made a dash for freedom. However, she was not alone as one of the elephants decided to pursue her.
"The elephant chased the lioness for a good kilometre until, in the end, the lioness decided to climb into another tree to escape from the elephant.
"The elephant then reached up to try and pull the lioness from the tree. In the end though the elephant gave up.
"Eventually the lioness came down from the tree and was reunited with her cubs.
"She must have been afraid as she appeared to be stuck in the first tree and afterwards, she seemed to be running for her life.
"In the end the elephant tried to grab the lioness with her trunk but she realised she couldn't as she was too high.
"Our guide at the time said he'd never seen anything like this in his 15-year career.
"We're not sure what the elephant was doing maybe she wanted to protect the babies in the herd or perhaps she was trying to prove she was queen of the jungle.
"We just kept quiet and watched. I made a movie while my husband took pictures.
"We knew it was very unusual. It's just not something you see in wildlife documentaries."
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