Brit photographer Charlie Potter, 31, caught the pair throwing up spray at high speed on a flood plain in Botswana.
Photographer Charlie Potter captured the moment a lioness chased after an antelopeCredit: Charlie Potter/ Magnus News
The calf managed to evade the big cat — and one of its cubs. Guess they’re not the only ones with nine lives.
Charlie, who also plans luxury safaris and works closely with anti-poaching charity ForRangers, said he dubbed the antelope ‘Lucky’ in honour of its escape.
He said: “We arrived onto the flood plains just as two fully grown lionesses and roughly six very mature cubs had emerged from the cover of a nearby thicket.
“Across the flood plain was a large group of a small antelope called red lechwe.
“As the young lions trotted off towards their intended targets, splashing and playing as they went, two adult lionesses sat no more than fifteen feet from me in the 4×4.
“They watched intently as their offspring stalked the herd and tried their luck at making a kill.
“All of the young lions failed miserably except for one who managed to separate this young red lechwe from the main herd and close in on it.
“Unfortunately for the lion, the young red lechwe’s speed and agility proved too much, and despite having a paw on its haunches the antelope escaped.”
The stunning photographs were taken in BotwsanaCredit: Charlie Potter/ Magnus News
The calf managed to evade the big catCredit: Charlie Potter/ Magnus News
Charlie said any hope of the ordeal being over for the antelope was short lived as it tried to hide in the long grass away from the herd.
He said: “It was now split from the rest of its herd with a group of lions separating them.
“The young lions more or less lost interest at this point and began to stalk one another, pouncing and play fighting with no real interest in continuing to hunt.
“The same was not the case for the two adult lionesses next to me. Having realised their cubs had given up and having maintained an eye on the isolated calf, they decided to show the youngsters how it’s done.
“They waited until the clearly tired calf laid down some one-hundred metres away.
“Now hidden by the long grass, one lioness slunk around the back of our 4×4 as the other crouched low and began moving towards to spot where the small antelope lay.
“As she approached, the red lechwe burst from her cover, the lioness in hot pursuit and trying to bend the antelopes run towards her hunting partner.
“She did so successfully, and the second lion picked up the chase. Water from the floodplain flew into the air as the chase flew past me.
“The antelope calf, with the superior speed and agility in the wet conditions escaped, again. I named her Lucky – not long in the world and having escaped death twice in a single hour.”