Lion climbs tree to escape prey

MY, HOW the tables have turned. When a holiday-maker went on a safari, he never thought he would witness this.

***ONE TIME WEB USE ONLY*** **CONTACT NETWORK PIC DESK FOR PRINT RIGHTS*** MUST CREDIT Barcroft Media/Getty Images MAASAI MARA, KENYA - MARCH 4: The lion clings to the tree as the angry buffalo herd waits below, on March 4, 2015, in the Maasai Mara, Kenya. THE KING of the Jungle was left with his tail between his legs after escaping a herd of angry buffalo ? by climbing a TREE. The rare pictures, captured in the Maasai Mara in March, show the cowardly lion fleeing danger with a terrified look on his hairy face. But despite retreating to the unusual safety zone the danger was not yet over as the bovines ? prone to trampling ? gathered under the tree to wait for the lion to fall. Charles Comyn, a 63-year-old ex-Army official, was exploring the stunning reserve in Kenya with his wife. PHOTOGRAPH BY Charles Comyn / Barcroft Media UK Office, London. T [phone] W www.barcroftmedia.com USA Office, New York City. T [phone] W www.barcroftusa.com Indian Office, Delhi. T [phone] W www.barcroftindia.com

HERE’S a real-life cowardly lion!

A man on safari holiday captured these amazing images of a big cat turning from hunter to hunted as it fled from stampeding water buffalo and climbed a tree for safety in Kenya.

The lion had been stalking a newborn calf but soon realised it was outnumbered by a protective herd.

“All of a sudden, literally out of nowhere, a male lion sprang out from his hiding place hightailing for a nearby tree with the buffalo now starting to give chase,” said Charles Comyn, 63, who was visiting the Maasai Mara National Reserve with his wife. “It didn’t take long before the lion had scrambled up the tree, fearing for its life.”

Hold on tight!

The water buffalo weren’t about to give the lion a free pass, and waited out the big scaredy cat as it gradually lost its grip on the branch.

“The marauding buffalo circled below, smelling the lion,” Comyn told Barcroft Media. “They were not going to let it get away.”

Talk about clingy.

As it lost balance on the tree, the lion summoned one more burst of courage.

The lion let out a mighty snarl, jumped off the tree and bolted to safety. It sprinted toward Comyn and then dashed into nearby brush with its life.

My, how the tables have turned.

“It was a hair-tingling moment,” Comyn said. “The lion could not hang for long — one could really sense that he was almost doomed — so he had to make another attempt to flee.”

It was only after the dust settled, that Comyn realised this showdown was over a newborn calf.

At last, he breaks free.

“Very quickly the buffalo resumed their early morning grazing. It was only then that we spotted the newly born calf in the middle of the herd, which they obviously had been protecting from the lion who possibly had spotted a potential ’light‘ breakfast,” the holiday-maker said.

“What a magical, unforgettable and, as we later learned, unheard of occurrence.”

The “King of the Jungle” was left with his tail between his legs after escaping the herd.

This story originally appeared on the NY Post.