Leaping Wildebeest Kicks Lioness In Dramatic Escape

This is the heart-stopping moment a soaring wildebeest leaped over two hungry lionesses on the run before darting across a lake and outpacing an entire pride.

In the dramatic footage the wildebeest turns sharply as it notices a sole lioness, zipping in the opposite direction toward two more predators lying in wait.

But, suddenly, the wildebeest shoots off the ground, jumping over the two awaiting females, kicking one in the head and continuing on the run.

Four more lionesses from the pack of seven then joined the chase in Kruger National Park, South Africa, but the blue wildebeest headed straight through the shallow part of the river to outrun the lionesses on the other side.

That was where visitor Lauren Hughey, from Florida, USA, was capturing the entire moment on film, while her guide at Rhino Post Safari Lodge, Bonga Njujula, from Eastern Cape, South Africa, frantically snapped stunning photographs.