The moment the lion jumped into the river to escape when cornered by a herd of buffalo

A herd of buffalo embarked on a revenge mission against a lion in these thr.illing action shots as they cornered the hapless beast after he had k.i.lled one of their gang.

The incredible images show the lion, trapped between the marsh and the deadly herd of sharp-horned buffalo, attempt to hide by lying on the ground before the buffalo approach to charge him.

The amazing encounter was captured in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya by Eric Baccega.

He said: ‘A lion and lioness had killed a buffalo which was trapped in the mud of a marsh but unfortunately I missed this episode.

‘A bit later, a herd of buffalo arrived. The lioness swiftly fled but the lion was caught in a trap between the marsh and the herd.

The lion, knowing he is in imminent danger, suddenly leaps from the ground and flees from the buffalo that have him outnumbered and outmatched.

‘The lion lay down on the ground to hide himself but the buffalo scented him and approached to charge him. The lion leapt and fled to take refuge a bit further into the marsh.

‘Protected by the mud of the marsh, the buffalos couldn’t reach him. We had to leave them at this point because it was the end of day, after 7pm.