The battle of Kruger

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An amateur video of an amazing animal confrontation on the African savannah is fast becoming one of the biggest hits on video-sharing website YouTube.

 

The footage first shows how several lions attack a group of buffalo, snatching a buffalo calf.

 

As the lions wrestle with a calf by a watering hole, a crocodile joins in the battle, pouncing on the buffalo.

 

The lions win the tug-of-war, but then the buffalo herd returns, chasing away the lions and freeing the calf.

 

The eight-minute-long footage - filmed in South Africa's Kruger National Park - shows how a big buffalo from the herd gores one of the lions and tosses it in the air.

 

The buffalo calf is then seen running away to rejoin the herd, while the lions are forced to retreat.

 

It remains unclear if the calf survived the ordeal.

 

Almost 9.5m people have already watched the video, dubbed the Battle at Kruger, which was filmed by US tourist Dave Budzinski while he was on a guided safari.

 

The footage is the envy of professional wildlife snappers, who might be marvelling at Mr Budzinski's luck.

 

He told ABC News that he used his video camera "once a year" and was not "adept at this sort of thing".

 

"I'm not a camera person. I'm just lucky to have it!"

 

His safari guide Frank Watts told ABC: "I have never seen anything like that in my life before".