An extraordinary mother lioness snatched her young cub seconds before it got swept away in a crocodile-infested river.

The lioness was crossing a river with her three cubs trailing behind, when one disappeared under the water.

Without a second's thought, she quickly grabbed the submerged youngster in her jaws and pulled it up on to its legs to prevent it from being swept away.

The current appeared strong, seeing another of the cub also disappear under the surface.

Luca Bracali captured the amazing scene at the River Ewaso Ny’iro in the Maasai Mara game reserve in Kenya.

He said it was so rare for cubs that young to cross a river that his guide had never seen anything like it before in the 10 years he had worked there.

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Luca said: "The photos show a mother lioness crossing the river for the first time, with her three cubs. It's extremely rare.

"The guide who has been doing this job for ten years said he's never seen it happen in his life.

"The cubs were just playing along the shore before they got into the river.

"There were crocodiles in the river but luckily they didn’t meet them.

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"One of the cubs fell into the water and the mother lioness grabbed it in her mouth to save him from drowning.

"I think they were trying to join the pack. Lions are not solitary animals."

Luca, from Italy, began his career as a photographer and reporter for sports newspapers before eventually going into wildlife photography.

It comes after an old lion fought two young rivals in a heartbreaking battle to the death.

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