Lion fights off massive croc to save younger brother

A lion showed how brotherly love thrives in the animal world by rescuing its younger sibling from being savaged by a giant crocodile.

The dramatic incident in a river in Botswana was captured on video by safari tourists last month, reports UPI.

Footage, posted on Monday, starts with two male lions cautiously entering the Linyanti River between Botswana and Namibia.

The pair swim out to the middle of the waterway but appear unaware of a giant crocodile approaching them.

It grabs the smaller lion, rapidly dragging it under the surface.

But the larger feline leaps into action, jumping on to the croc, causing it to loosen its grip of the younger lion.

The combatants are shown thrashing about before disappearing into reeds and out of view.

Despite fears the elder lion had been killed, the video shooter posted that it had amazingly survived the encounter and was spotted climbing ashore uninjured.