These siblings battled until both were red in tooth and claw as they sought to win the affections of a lioness – and control of the pride – at the Masai Mara wildlife reserve in Kenya.
Their ferocious fight was captured by seasoned safari photographers Laurent Renaud and Dominique Haution, who are both 55 and teachers in northern France.
Brutal: Two huge male lions were pictured brawling for dominance in Kenya
Snapping to it: They were captured fighting by Laurent Renaud and Dominique Haution both teachers from northern France, who are seasoned safari photographers
Injured: Both lions sustained fairly serious wounds in the fight
Rare: It’s not often that two male lions will fight each other to be King of the Jungle
The couple have been living and working together for the last 32 years.
Mr Renaud said: ‘It was great to be able to take photographs of the lions and with the noise of them fighting, it really was an amazing moment.’
Miss Haution explained: ‘When lions want to take over a pride, the old lions fight with the new ones.
‘But seeing two lion brothers fighting, one against the other, is a very rare sighting.
‘We were very lucky to witness it, and both lions unfortunately ended up with serious wounds. But that’s just what happens in the wild and we would never interfere with nature.’
Just 15 minutes after the lions finished scrapping, the triumphant brother went and mated with his lioness as a prize, with the photographers describing the fight as ‘an amazing moment’
Food gathering: Although male lions have tremendous strength and power, it’s actually the slightly smaller female that does most of the hunting
Wounded: The lion on the right has sustained a nasty-looking gash on his nose
To the victor the spoils: The victorious brother mates with a lioness
Just 15 minutes after the lions finished scrapping, the triumphant brother went and mated with his lioness as a prize.
Laurent said: ‘It was great to be able to take photographs of the lions and with the noise of them fighting, it really was an amazing moment.’
Although male lions have tremendous strength and power, it’s actually the slightly smaller female that does most of the hunting.