Cat fight! What happens when a lion is interrupted during mating
Male lions showed their teeth as they traded blows in a ferocious battle in the Kruger National Park.
The show of aggression broke out after one of the lions approached the other while it was mating.
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When the interrupted male lashed out, the powerful big cats took turns to take swipes at each other.
Finance assistant Johan Peter Meiring believes the lions were fighting over the same female.
He said: "There were two females and two males next to the road.
"The one couple was mating every five to ten minutes.
"The one subordinate male approached a bit too close for comfort to the larger dominant male, causing him to attack.
"Shortly after the brawl the two began mating again."
It is not unusual for lions to fight over a female, and it is even known for brothers to compete for the affections of the same lioness.
Powerful males will often brawl with each to try and gain leadership of a pride, with the winner sometimes killing off younger lions to eliminate further competition.
Meiring captured the brutal fight between two males in Kruger National Park, South Africa, earlier this month.
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