The lionesses moved around to the side of the herd near some thicker brush and found a cow with a very young calf slightly separated from the rest of the herd.  The prey was chosen!  We asked James why the cows with young didn't stay in the center of the herd so they would not be such easy victims.  He told us that it is instinct also, because if the herd should start to run, the babies would be trampled.  They are damned if they do and damned if they don't.  But a lot of them seem to grow up! 

The mother tries to keep the baby away from them.

She chases the boldest of the lionesses.

But she will have no chance against the group.

The lioness on the left grabs the baby while the others distract the mother.  They know they have her now because she will not leave the baby.  The cow is calling and the baby is wailing at this point.  It's very clear that the end is near.

The mother turns to try to save the baby from the left lioness and exposes her back to the rest of the group--a nearly fatal mistake.

But the bulls have heard the noise and come to make one last attempt to chase the lionesses away.

They succeed momentarily..............

.........but seem to give up when they see that the baby has been captured and they leave the cow on her own.  It looked sort of like they had done their duty, but now realized there was no hope after all.  You can see the lionesses all have their eyes on the cow and calf again and are not even paying any attention to the bulls as they leave.