A photographer in Africa captured a sequence of photos in the wild of a lioness attacking a crocodile to protect herself.

Pia Dierickx, a 48-year-old photographer from Belgium, saw the scene unfold in Botswana when the lioness was attempting to cross the riverbank at Okavanga Delta. As Dierickx snapped photos, the lioness attacked the crocodile to protect her pride and cubs. The fight was quick, but fierce, as the lioness and the crocodile bit each other before the lioness ran off unscathed.

Dierickx learned much later that she had caught the whole scene on film.

"The sequence of six picture of the real action were taken in one second," Dierickx told The Daily Mail. "It was only after checking my pictures on the camera viewer that I really realized what I had witnessed. Luckily the story had a happy ending because all the lionesses and cubs made it safely to the other bank."

Dierickx said she was watching the lioness go about her business with her cubs when the violent fight broke out.

"I watched a lioness carefully move out into the channel and then there was a huge splash in the water,' she told The Daily Mail. "Luckily for the lioness the crocodile did not have an opportunity to do the death roll because her mouth was kept closed between the front legs of the lioness."

The crocodile reportedly swam away unfazed after the attack by the lioness.

According to her website, Pia Dierickx studied photography all of her life, but her trip in which she captured the photos of the lioness attacking the crocodile was the most impressive moment of her career yet.

"Since my journey to Botswana, that passion for photography has been rekindled," she wrote. "The beauty of the country, together with the unspoilt natural environment encouraged me to record what I saw using my camera."

To see the lioness vs. crocodile photos and more of Pia Dierickx's nature photography, check out her website.

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