The moment a lion king became a scaredy- cat

THIS king of the jungle had his tail between his legs after nearly being trampled by buffalo.

They saw it stalking a newborn calf and were not ready to allow an easy escape.

The scaredy- cat jumped on the tree and the herd gathered round. It was all over in a few seconds. They waited for the cowering lion to fall and it started to slide down the bark as tiredness set in.

But out of desperation the big cat let out a snarl and suddenly leapt from the tree, ran towards a safari jeep and disappeared into the bush – with a look of terror clear on his face.

The pictures were taken in Kenya’s Maasai Mara by ex- army official Charles Comyn, 63. He said: “It was a hair- tingling moment. The lion could not hang for long – he was almost doomed – so he had to make one last attempt to flee.”