It's not often that you'll see the king of the jungle swallowing his pride and cowering away from what should be his food. But in the Maasai Mara, anything goes.

When British tourist and military veteran, Charles Comyn, visited Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve, he surely did not expect to be the photographer behind these brilliant snaps which have gone viral on the net.

For some reason, the frightened lion had been hiding from the herd of buffalo but when they became aware of it, it sprung onto a nearby tree and attempted, unsuccessfully, to crawl upwards. Despite its best efforts, its grip was not holding and the buffalo patiently waited for it to join them again for some good ol’ down-to-earth fun.

When it became clear to the big cat that its efforts were going south, it somehow managed to make a quick exit and sprint to safety – with the buffalo in pursuit.

Comyn recently spoke to South Africa’s Cape Talk radio station, describing the events as they unfolded. Listen to his description below:

Even though they are herbivorous creatures, buffalo can be foul-tempered, vengeful and territorial beasts that could easily turn a ferocious lion into a rug. In fact, these photos reminded us of an incident at South Africa’s Kruger National Park a few years ago. The widely circulated video of a tug-of-war involving

lions, buffalo and crocodiles is a must-see for those who missed it. Check it out below

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