Mother Cheetah Chases Away Male Lion Who Is 3 Times Her Weight And Trying To Eat Her Cubs

Mothers don't leave their babies. This is so true with this mother cheetah, whose heroics have been caught on camera as she disregarded her safety to protect her cubs from a big male lion.

Source: Kisemei Saruni

Photographer Kisemei Saruni, 35, was able to capture the moment in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. He was stunned!
"I was on a usual drive tour when we were observing a leopard and her pups when a male lion emerged out of a bush not far from us," said Saruni, who stopped his car 130 meters away.

Source: Kisemei Saruni

From the images, the prowling 330lb lion was three times bigger than the cheetah, yet the mother seemed not to worry about it at all.
The lion was strolling around his territory waiting for the prey when he spotted the cheetah and her cubs. His plan was to separate the mother from her babies, and it seemed that the hunter could do it without difficulty.

Source: Kisemei Saruni

First, mama cheetah surrendered and ran away, but it was not long before she returned to the table chasing the killer away. She ended up becoming the hunter and causing the bigger cat to flee. On average, a cheetah chase covers 200-300 meters in less than a minute. They can reach up to the full speed of three strides a second, seven meters per stride.

Source: Kisemei Saruni

Making sure that the danger had gone, the cheetah came back to her cubs and adopted a defensive position next to them.

Source: Kisemei Saruni

H/T: dailymail.co.uk