Two fearsome male lions fight it out for supremacy and mating rights within their pride as they wrestle in the wilderness.They reared up on their hind legs, bit and clawed at each other's face and eyes and tussled in the dirt.Photographer Kenneth Watkins, 64, watched in awe from just 30 yards away as the noisy battled played out.
Brawl of the wild: Two male lions rear up on their hind legs as they fight it out for supremacy and mating rights
Brutal: One of the lions claws at the eyes of the other as they fight at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe
He was on safari at the Ngweshla Picnic site at the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, with his wife and their guide.Insurance consultant Kenneth said: 'They are two adult males who recently formed a loose coalition with three adult females.
'We believe the fight was to establish dominance between the two males. It was very noisy, and lasted about 20 seconds.'The older and darker maned lion had been mating with one of the three females earlier in the week.
'Once the older lion thought he had established dominance the two males went their separate ways.
'The youngster kept a reasonable distance for the rest of the day. He probably minor scratches but there was not very much blood.'Kenneth, originally from Sidcup, Kent, but now living in Greyton, South Africa, added: 'It was remarkable to watch, because in 15 years of safari, we had never seen lions fighting.
'Lions very rarely pay any attention to people in an open safari vehicle, so we were not at all scared.
'Lions are marvelous animals, unfortunately for photography they are mostly asleep, so to get some action was highly pleasing.'
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