Buffalo tries to fight off lions as they hunt her calf… only to watch her young devoured before her eyes

She blocked, she kicked, she fought.... but it was all for nothing.This is the heart-breaking moment a buffalo mother risked her life in a courageous attempt to rescue her calf from the jaws of lions.Sadly, she was outnumbered and overpowered, and no amount of self-sacrifice was enough to keep the lions away from her vulnerable baby.

The incredible series of pictures were taken by photographer Salome Hoogendijk, 30, who captured the brave mum trying to fight off the pride on the Duba Plains in Botswana. In the snaps, a lioness can first be seen pouncing on a lone calf.But maternal instinct kicks in and the buffalo mum immediately rushes to her young's side, putting her life on the line as she places her body between the lions and her baby.She acts as if she is going to charge towards the lions and for a moment it seems as if her rescue attempt could win the day.

But then the herd of lions split up and one attacks the mother while the other sets its sights on the now-vulnerable baby buffalo.The mother fights with all her might, still attempting to kick off the predators and save her young even after one lion jumps on her back.But her desperate last attempt wasn't enough in the end. The lions overpower the buffalo and reach the calf.All the mother can do is watch as the kings of the jungle devour her baby, fighting for their share of the kill.

The photographer from Pretoria, South Africa, who took the pictures in summer 2014, said: 'It lasted for around 20 minutes and it started off with the lion chasing the baby buffalo away from the herd. 'The mother dramatically came in and put her life on the line for her baby.

'At one point I thought the buffalo and calf was going to get away but then all of a sudden the lions split up and one jumped on the back of the mum and that scared her and she couldn't protect herself and her baby at the same time.

'She tried her hardest with kicking the lions off but they were just too strong for her.'It was incredibly heart-wrenching to watch the struggle between the two buffalo but it was so touching to see the mother buffalo put her life on the line for her baby like that.

'It shows that even animals love just as much as humans do.'