A trip to the dentist may be in order for one lion who amazingly kept his tooth despite going paw to paw with it hanging by a thread.

A fierce tussle between a loose-toothed male lion and a female in his pride broke out earlier this month at the Kruger national park, South Africa.

The lovers’ tiff between the big cat pair was captured by business owner and farm manager, Corlette Wessels, 43, from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Corlette said: ‘It all started when we saw the one male on his own and photographed him.

‘In the distance we spotted his coalition brother, about 200 meters away coming down the road. We drove closer to the other male as we were curious how they would greet one another.

‘The male coming down the road, the one with the tooth hanging loose, you could see was walking with some attitude. He hardly greeted his brother and walked on. He was marking his territory as he walked off with his brother following him.

Lover’s tiff: The male and female pair begin their vicious brawl which was played out in front a whole pride of lions including playful young cubs. Corlette, the photographer who took these stunning images said: ‘I did not see any blood nor did I see any of them biting one another. I cannot tell you the intensity of their voices and growls they made and the pure force of their fore legs lashing out at one another’

Hanging by a thread: The male’s tooth is close to falling out of his mouth as the lioness shouts him down in Kruger National Park

Prides are family units that may include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young. ‘As soon as the males heard the females calling they started to run towards the direction where the sound was coming from. We decided to go to the females with the cubs. I was concerned as I thought the male might lash into the cubs as he seemed to have been on a mission,’ Corlette continued

It is not hard to see why female lions are the pride’s primary hunters with this incredible image showing just how brave they can be. The lioness’ often work together to prey upon antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, and other large animals of the open grasslands

The tooth fairy might be paying this lion a visit soon. ‘The lionesses approached him and they greeted each other and even the cubs greeted him and jumped on him playfully. The other male arrived and also greeted the females. A few minutes later one of the cubs approached one of the males and the oldest female of the pride started to growl at the male and he growled back and then she slapped him and the other females joined in and they growled at each other,’ added the photographer

West African lions can  considered to be an endangered species in the region and can be found in parks across Western Africa, south of the Sahara, down to Zimbabwe and South Africa. Corlette concluded: ‘I cannot tell you the intensity of their voices and growls they made and the pure force of their fore legs lashing out at one another’