In pain and despair when seeing her young cubs surrounded by ferocious hunting dogs, the mother lion did not hesitate to rush into the life-and-death battle. In that suffocating moment, her courage helped her become a human shield to protect her cubs.

This majestic image was captured by photographer Shalin Fernando at the Moremi reserve, Botswana, deeply imprinting the fierce confrontation between life and death.

In the clip, a pack of ferocious wild dogs suddenly surrounded and attacked the mother lion and her cubs. Cornered, the mother lion had no other choice but to open a path of life for her cubs, despite the lurking danger.

After safely leading her cubs out of the deadly siege, the mother lion still did not give up the fight. With courage and determination, she forced the hunting dogs to give up and retreat in defeat.