Wrestling and roaring for superiority, this is the dramatic moment a group of lions began a spontaneous turf war in the early-morning Serengeti sun.
The Serengeti stand-off started when the male lion paced towards the pride as the sun rose (Caters)The dramatic combat between the stunning big cats started when a male lion appeared to try to take over the pride as the sun rose in Tanzania.
Amateur wildlife photographer Andrew Atkinson managed to capture the brutal scrap involving up to five lions and lionesses.He got a front row seat for the fight by snapping the spectacular stand-off from just 20 metres away as the dominant male battled for superiority.
Fight: The lions come to blows as the battle for superiority intensifies (Caters)As the fight spiralled into a mass brawl neither pride of lions were prepared to give in and tried to fend each other off with their roaring efforts.
The young lions opened their jaws underneath the early morning African sun and wrestled each other to the ground and draw their claws when the scrap started getting messy.
Other lions and lionesses support the dominant males by joining in the heated ruck (Caters)Andrew, 34, a software development manager from Hertfordshire was at the end of a two- week holiday when he got caught up in the dramatic scenes.
He said: "It looked like the male lion was trying to take over the pride when he arrived which was what started things off."The roaring was insane. It was such a deep roar that you could feel it vibrating through the ground and everything around us.
The battle ends with a tense stand-off, with neither lion appearing willing to back down (Caters)"The lions are so fast and kept moving around so it was a big challenge to even get the pictures.
"I think what attracts me to wildlife photography is the way that you can never predict what animals are going to do."