When you’re a hungry lion, most animals probably seem like a good bet for a meal.
But this lion certainly bit off more than he could chew when he pounced on a pangolin.
British wildlife guide Mark Sheridan-Johnson captured on film this curious feline spending a lot of time trying to devour the strange creature in the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania.
The rare armored pangolin had the perfect defense tactic: curling up into a ball and staying put, no matter what.
The footage shows how the unfortunate lion appeared confused by his spherical prey, swatting at the creature with his paws and even attempting to carry it in his mouth.
Mr. Sheridan-Johnson, a 31-year-old from Newcastle, was leading a group of tourists around the game reserve when he saw the little pangolin fighting for its life.
“The pangolin is an extremely elusive animal, and many guides in Africa consider it the holy grail of sightings,” he said.
“You can spend your whole life roaming the bushes and never see one. So when we came across one being attacked by a lion, we couldn’t believe what we were seeing.
“The pangolin was obviously having a very bad day.”
When caught by large predators like lions, they use their muscles in a cutting action to slash the mouths of their adversaries.
The injuries inflicted can be severe for any animal attempting to eat the pangolin.
Pangolins survive by using their sensitive tongues, which can grow up to 16 inches long, to probe ant nests and termite mounds to eat the insects inside.
“In the end, the lion gave up and walked away in search of something else, and the pangolin escaped,” said Mark.
“It stayed in its ball for a long time until it got dark, just to make sure it was safe.”
The Selous Game Reserve is Africa’s largest protected wildlife reserve and covers five percent of Tanzania’s total landmass.
It is located in the remote southeastern part of the country and consists of meandering rivers, rolling hills, and vast plains.
The reserve is named in honor of British explorer Frederick Courtney Selous, who wrote a book about his travels in the region and died there during World War I.