A bullying buffalo was gored and then tossed several feet into the air after it picked a fight with a massive mother elephant.
The unfortunate animal - which can weigh more than 500kg - died after the battle shown in these astounding pictures, snapped by an amateur photographer while on holiday in Kenya.
The series of images from the Maasai Mara game reserve shows the elephant charging the buffalo, as three young elephants huddle behind her.
The buffalo had been dozing under a tree when the elephant innocently walked past - but, inexplicably, the smaller of the two beasts decided to charge and headbutt her.
Reacting quickly the much bigger elephant drove her tusk into the buffalo, hoisting it several feet in the air and inflicting fatal injuries.
Brutal assault: The elephant bull attacking the buffalo on the ground
(Photo: Kim Maurer/Caters)
Closer view: The elephant gored the buffalo with its tusk (Photo: Kim Maurer/Caters)
Hoisted aloft: The elephant tossing the buffalo into the air (Photo: Kim Maurer/Caters)
Crash landing: The buffalo falls to the ground (Photo: Kim Maurer/Caters)
Stunned photographer Kimberly Maurer, 56, said: "This photograph was, no doubt, a once-in-a-lifetime capture for me.
"As you would imagine, his carcass was a meal for another animal or two.
"I started looking through the images on the back of my camera immediately after the attack and became very excited to discover that I had actually captured the event in detail."
Rangers at the reserve believe the buffalo must have been unwell to have reacted so strangely to the elephant's presence.
Read more: Lion gets a painful surprise after attacking buffalo and ending up impaled on beast's horn
But earlier this month another buffalo managed to strike back during a fight for its life against five lions.
Photos captured in South Africa's Mara Mara reserve showed a buffalo jamming one of its massive horns into the shoulder of an attacking big cat.
Source mirror.co.uk
