Capturing a kill on camera can be a seriously tricky feat, so our hats are off to photographer Trix Jonker who managed to take this series of epic photographs on a recent trip to South Africa’s Addo Elephant Park.
“It was getting late and the game reserve gates were closing in an hour,” Jonker recalls. “I looked away and when I looked back I saw the warthog coming straight towards some resting lions.”
Unaware of the lions’ presence, the warthog headed straight for a bush where one of the big cats was snoozing. It didn’t know it, but it actually had the element of surprise on its side … it startled the sleeping lioness and was able to make a quick getaway.
But Jonker couldn’t believe her eyes when the warthog foolishly headed back towards the lions after its initial close shave.
“By this time, a male lion had woken up and was sitting up straight, trying to see what the commotion was. He saw the warthog coming and went straight into the attack position. This was when I had my camera poised as I knew something was going to happen,” she explains.
Jonker was lucky enough to capture the six-minute battle on camera. “I couldn’t believe how tough the warthog was, and was absolutely stunned by what I saw that afternoon. It’s amazing I managed to capture it.”
