[Video] "This is my territory!"... Brave Turtle Attacks Lions Coming to Drink Water

A turtle is chasing away a lion that came to drink water from its river. Photo by Latest Sightings SNS capture.

A turtle is chasing away a lion that came to drink water from its river. Photo by Latest Sightings SNS capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A brave turtle aggressively chasing away two lions that came to drink water from its river is drawing attention.

According to foreign media on the 20th (local time), recently, a terrapin, a type of freshwater turtle, chased away two lions at the Sand River located within the wildlife reserve of Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Video released by Reggie Barreto [Source=Latest Sightings SNS]

A man named Reggie Barreto (30) happened to capture this turtle’s unexpected behavior on video and released the footage.

In the video, the small turtle rushes and attacks a male and a female lion that approach one after another to drink water to quench their thirst. The lions appear startled by the turtle’s attack and flinch, stepping back.

Barreto explained, "We knew the lion pride would come to drink water at the river, so we went to the perfect spot and waited. The sunlight was also shining favorably on us."

However, Barreto did not expect the turtle to appear while the lions were drinking. He said, "I was pleasantly surprised by the turtle’s appearance."

Barreto added, "The two lions seemed a bit annoyed by the small turtle, but it looks like they drank enough fresh water to be satisfied before the turtle approached and attacked."

Netizens who watched the video reacted with laughter, saying, "The lions are so gentle," "The turtle is brave and cute," and "This is why turtles live long."

Meanwhile, there is speculation that the lions did not attack the bothersome turtle because they had just filled their stomachs by eating a hunted baby zebra right before drinking water.