Get email updates with the day's biggest stories Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice A male lion was brutally attacked by a gang of lionesses because of a dispute over food, claim zoo officals . The lion called Jilani was given pain relief for his injuries and is now "resting with his brothers, away from the females" after the savagery, which is said to be common in the wild. Dramatic footage captured the lionesses pouncing on the male and sinking their teeth into his body at West Midlands Safari Park in Bewdley, Worcestershire, on Wednesday, reports Birmingham Live . Shocked visitors saw the male roaring in agony as up to nine females attacked. (Image: Mya Beverstock / SWNS.com) West Midlands Safari Park has now issued a statement. It said that the lionesses ganged up on Jilani after a 'dispute over food'. The post said: “A dispute happened between Jilani and a female lion over some meat. "Jilani and his two brothers usually stick together and are able to keep the lionesses in order, but on this occasion the other females became involved first. "Our experienced keepers were immediately on the scene and split up the fight. “Jilani has been checked over by our vet and apart from being a bit stiff and sore, he has not sustained any serious injuries and has been given some pain relief. "He is now resting with his brothers away from the females, but will rejoin the pride this weekend. “The males were introduced slowly to the females last year, so the pride is still settling in under the watchful eyes of our carnivore keepers. "Lions are very tough animals and disputes similar to this are very common in the wild." (Image: Mya Beverstock / SWNS.com) The drama was captured on camera by amateur photographer Mya Beverstock, 19, who was visiting the park. Mya, from Kenilworth, said: “I noticed these female lionesses surrounding a male. All of a sudden they just pounced. They were biting at his back legs and his neck and pinning him to the ground, it looked really vicious and you can see in his eyes he thought he was going to die. “It was incredible to watch the king of the jungle looking so vulnerable. In the photos you can see him almost pleading for help. “He had bite marks and cuts on his back legs, he was pretty messed up." (Image: Mya Beverstock / SWNS.com) West Midlands Safari Park staff sprayed the lions with fire extinguishers to break up the incident. “Thank you to everyone who has asked about Jilani, one of our male lions. "On Wednesday, a dispute happened between Jilani and a female lion over some meat. Jilani and his two brothers usually stick together and are able to keep the lionesses in order, but on this occasion the other females became involved first. "Our experienced keepers were immediately on the scene and split up the fight. “Jilani has been checked over by our vet and apart from being a bit stiff and sore, he has not sustained any serious injuries and has been given some pain relief. He is now resting with his brothers away from the females, but will rejoin the pride this weekend. “The males were introduced slowly to the females last year, so the pride is still settling in under the watchful eyes of our carnivore keepers. Lions are very tough animals and disputes similar to this are very common in the wild.”<doc-sep>A gang of lionesses have been filmed launching a vicious attack on a male after deciding they wanted to kill off the leader of the pride. Terrifying footage showed the females sinking their teeth into his flesh and tearing at his fur after pouncing on him at West Midlands Safari Park. Safari workers had to step in and spray fire extinguishers at the beasts to break up the ferocious attack after the male was left bloodied and battered. A gang of lionesses launched a ferocious attack on a male at West Midlands Safari Park. The male is seen letting out a painful roar About nine females sink their teeth into his skull and tear at his fur after pouncing on him Lionesses - the real rulers of the pride Lionesses sometimes kill of their male leader when when he's no longer in his prime years so they can bring in a younger male to breed with. Lions live in a pride made up of related females who remain members of a pride long-term, whereas the male leader is interchangeable. Male lions become a member of the pride only if the females accept him. As a result, the life of a male lion is much more socially precarious than that of the females. The lion has to win the grace of the females to become their pride male and usually will only be able to remain the pride male for three to five years. The natural instinct for lionesses is to take out the male leader when he's no longer in his prime years - five to ten years old. The females have a natural instinct to kill the leader so they can bring in a younger lion to increase their chances of producing offspring. Advertisement It's possible the female lions were trying to kill the male because he was too old to run the pride. In the wild lionesses will often kill their leader if they think he's past his prime and can no longer rule them properly. However, Mya Beverstock, who caught the attack on film, said the females may have pounced on him after a dispute over food. She said: 'It pretty much happened out of the blue. It was feeding time and then suddenly we heard growling a raoring. 'Two other males stepped back and didn't get involved while the females attacked the leader. He may have ate before his turn. 'Safari workers dealt with it very quickly. Three jeeps ended up in the enclosure honking there horns and driving towards the lions to break them up. 'One of the jeeps spraying them with a fire extinguisher which ended up mostly breaking up the fight. 'We did go around the park again afterwards and all the female lions had been removed from the enclosure and it was only the three males in there.' In February this year a pride of lions charged towards a car at the same safari park. Safari workers pulled up in three Landrovers while spraying fire extinguishers out of the window to break up the attack The male lion has a look of panic on his face as he tries to escape the grasp of the ferocious females Several lionesses sink their teeth into the male's mane as he lies exhausted on the rocks after struggling to escape The fire extinguisher startles the female lions who become confused and back away from the male Abi Tudge, 23, and her friend Jaz Reynolds, who had arranged the trip as a treat for two children they were caring for, watched in shock as the big cats bounded towards their Hyundai. The women claim they were trapped in the enclosure for nearly an hour after rangers closed the gates to deal with the 'agitated' and 'aggravated' animals. Heart-stopping footage shot by Miss Reynolds, 28, showed them leap on top of the bonnet and roof leaving behind a huge paw print-shaped dent. Miss Tudge, from Hereford, said they were left feeling shaken and feared the car's windows could have been smashed by the animals during their visit on Wednesday to the popular attraction in Bewdley, Worcestershire. West Midlands Safari Park confirmed the exit of its drive-through lion enclosure had been kept closed 'temporarily' because of the animals' proximity to the gate but stressed no-one had been in any danger. A spokesman added: 'The male lions have been in the process of being mixed with the females for a few months now. Abi, of Hereford, said they were left feeling shaken and feared the car's windows could have been smashed by the animals, which can weigh up to 30 stone 'This has been going well and there was no reason to believe that there would be any issues yesterday as a result of mixing. As with all wild animals, normally harmonious groups can on occasion become particularly active. 'This is constantly monitored closely by trained staff who are always in the enclosure when guests are too and will intervene if necessary. 'There was an experienced member of staff within the enclosure and at no time were guests in any danger.'<doc-sep>THIS is the moment nine lionesses brutally attacked a lion in front of horrified visitors. Shocking footage shows the pack of females tearing their teeth into the leader of the pride's flesh at West Midlands Safari Park. 5 Shocking footage shows lionesses savaging the leader of the pride Credit: Mya Beverstock The lionesses then drag him from the rocks into the water where he is seen helplessly roaring in pain. Safari workers at the enclosure in Bewdley, Worcs., had to step in and spray fire extinguishers at the beasts to break up the ferocious attack after the male was left covered in blood. It is conceivable the lionesses were trying to kill their leader because he was too old to run the pride. However Mya Beverstock, who caught the attack on film, said the females may have pounced on him after a dispute over food. 5 The lion was left bloodied and bruised after the pack of lionesses pounded him Credit: Mya Beverstock 5 The horrifying clip shows a lion being pushed into the water as he's overpowered by the females Credit: Mya Beverstock 5 The horrifying scene was filmed at West Midlands Safari Park Credit: Mya Beverstock 5 Safari keepers intervened with fire extinguishers Credit: Mya Beverstock She said: "It pretty much happened out of the blue. It was feeding time and then suddenly we heard growling and roaring. "Two other males stepped back and didn't get involved while the females attacked the leader. He may have ate before his turn." She added: "Safari workers dealt with it very quickly. Three jeeps ended up in the enclosure honking their horns and driving towards the lions to break them up. "One of the jeeps sprayed them with a fire extinguisher which ended up mostly breaking up the fight. MOST READ NEWS 'GOBSMACKED' Queen 'gave Harry OK for Oprah series after misleading pitch about soldiers' ROD LIDDLE Ousting right-on National Trust boss is a victory against wokery DRUMMER DEAD School Of Rock star dies at 32 after being hit by car as Jack Black mourns HOUSE ABOUT IT You won't believe what this ordinary London home looks like on the inside Exclusive TOM'S LEGACY Captain Tom Moore — who raised £39m for charity — left family £73k in will JABS HOPE Scientists 'crack cause of blood clots linked to Covid jabs & know how to fix it' "We did go around the park again afterwards and all the female lions had been removed from the enclosure and it was only the three males in there." Luckily, the lion who was pounced on survived the brutal attack. In February of this year a pride of lions pounced at a car at the same safari park. No one was injured in the attack but the roof was left dented and scratched. Terrifying moment pride of lions charge towards family's car and leap on the roof leaving it damaged at West Midlands Safari Park We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.<doc-sep>A pride of lionesses were filmed viciously attacking a male in the pride in a fight over a piece of meat. Heart-stopping footage has captured the moment the females pounced on him and sank their teeth into his body at West Mildands Safari Park. Safari keepers were forced to step and use fire extinguishers to break up the attack in Bewdley, Worcestershire on Wednesday. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Mya Beverstock, 19, said she noticed the lionnesses surrounding the male before pouncing ‘out of the blue’. Mya, from Kenliworth, Warwickshire, who works at Domino’s Pizza, said: ‘I noticed these female lionesses surrounding a male. All of a sudden they just pounced. ‘They were biting at his back legs and his neck and pinning him to the ground, it looked really vicious and you can see in his eyes he thought he was going to die. Terrifying footage has captured the moment the lions pounce (Picture: Mya Beverstock/SWNS) ‘Within a flash, safari jeeps were there surrounding the lionesses. There were three vehicles, one was honking its horn while another sprayed an extinguisher.’ Images show the male roaring in agony as up to nine females sink their teeth into his flesh, leaving him with bloody cuts and bite marks. It is unclear why the animals turned on the male but in the wild females have been known to kill an elderly male if they no longer think he is fit to rule the pride. The females sink their teeth into the male (Picture: Mya Beverstock/SWNS) ‘They looked angry and pounced as if they are going in for the kill,’ Mya said. ‘It was incredible to watch the king of the jungle looking so vulnerable. You can see him almost pleading for help. ‘Its something you’d be lucky to see in Kenya, yet alone a British safari park. It was really intense to watch and listen to the roars. The male can be seen roaring in pain (Picture: Mya Beverstock/SWNS) ‘We went back around later in the day and the females were nowhere to be seen. So they must have ushered them all indoors to protect the three males. ‘It was quite an experience which really took your breath away. I never expected to see anything like that. You could see the terror in his eyes.’ A spokesman for the park said the fight started over a piece of meat. Safari workers had to spray fire extinguishers onto the lions to drive them off (Picture: Mya Beverstock/SWNS) They added: ‘These are very tough animals and act as they would do in the wild. ‘However what appears vicious to you and I isn’t so much in lion terms. ‘A vet checked over his injuries but he appears to be fine now. ‘The three males have been with the pride for around a year and are still integrating with the females who have been here much longer and are a close-knit group. ‘They must have took exception to him trying to steal their food and thought “you’re not having that”.’ Got a story for Metro.co.uk? If you have a story for our news team, email us at webnews@metro.co.uk. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.<doc-sep>
It looks like some sort of deleted scene from The Lion King, but this is actually the terrifying moment a gang of lionesses viciously attacked the male of the pride in a bid to kill him off in front of horrified visitors at a British safari park. Loading… In fact, it's depicts the classic Disney film more than we're giving it credit. The male lion is Mufasa (obviously), the jealous females are a concoction of Scars, and Zazu - the red-billed hornbill - is played by the staff attempting to save the lion. And it's pretty scary shit. Advert 10 The heart-stopping footage captured the powerful beasts pouncing on the male and sinking their teeth into his body at West Midlands Safari Park. The drama was captured on camera by amateur photographer Mya Beverstock, 19, who had visited the attraction in Bewdley, Worcestershire, on Wednesday. As she drove around the safari park with her parents at around 11.45am she noticed the group of female lions surrounding the male before pouncing 'out of the blue'. Credit: SWNS Advert 10 Images taken by Mya show the male roaring in agony as up to nine females sink their razor-sharp teeth into his body leaving him with bloody cuts and bite marks. Keepers were quickly on the scene and had to step in using fire extinguishers to break up the brutal attack. Credit: SWNS It is unclear why the animals turned on the male but in the wild females have been known to kill an elderly male if they no longer think he is fit to rule the pride. Advert 10 Mya, from Kenilworth, Warwickshire, who works at Domino's Pizza, said: "I decided to go to the safari park with my mum and dad to take some pictures of the lions. "We had been sat there for a few minutes when we noticed these two male lions sitting on top a rock growling at something down below. "We drove around a little bit and I noticed these female lionesses surrounding a male. All of a sudden they just pounced. Credit: SWNS Advert 10 "They were biting at his back legs and his neck and pinning him to the ground, it looked really vicious and you can see in his eyes he thought he was going to die. "Within a flash, safari jeeps were there surrounding the lionesses. There were three vehicles, one was honking its horn while another sprayed an extinguisher. "There could be any number of reasons why they were attacking him. It could be that they thought he was too old to be their leader or it could have been over food. Credit: SWNS Advert 10 "He could have tried it on with one of the females, who knows, but they looked angry and pounced as if they are going in for the kill. "It was incredible to watch the king of the jungle looking so vulnerable. In the photos you can see him almost pleading for help. "He had bite marks and cuts on his back legs, he was pretty messed up. Its something you'd be lucky to see in Kenya, yet alone a British safari park. Mya. Credit: SWNS "You could see car windows going up and almost hear doors locking as it happened, it was just really intense to watch and listen to the roars. "We went back around later in the day and the females were nowhere to be seen. So they must have ushered them all indoors to protect the three males.