Lioness gives croc shock fighting back to protect her cubs

A BRAVE lioness fights a vicious crocodile to allow her cubs to cross a river.

The croc attacked the mother’s face, ripping her nose as they grappled, but she grabbed its jaws and dragged it underwater.

The reptile fled and the pride, including other lionesses, made it across the river in Okavango Delta in Botswana.

Photographer Pia Dierickx said: “Luckily the croc did not have an opportunity to do the death roll.”