A wildebeest incredibly ‘came back from the dead’ after being dragged to the ground by its throat by a lioness.

Francis Kijazi was on a tour of the northern Serengeti in Tanzania when he witnessed the annual river crossing migration.

Amazing footage captured the moment a five-year-old lioness wrestled a straggling wildebeest to the ground by its throat until it stopped breathing.

After the lioness wandered off, the fallen prey caught its breath again and sat up before getting to its feet and wandering off apparently unharmed.

Francis said: “I’ve been a guide for 14 years and never seen anything like this before. My eyeballs were popping out of my head as I watched it unfold.

“The wildebeest was lying on the ground for 10 minutes before seeming to come back from the dead. It must have been unconscious.

“The lioness was checking out the migration across the Mara River from north to south.

“She caught one that had made it out of the water first but that one got out of her grasp. She managed to catch a second wildebeest, which was this one.

“After she seized it thought, she didn’t eat it and wandered off back to watch the river.

“I’m not sure why. She must not have been hungry and just saw the opportunity to make the catch.

“As the lioness was looking away the wildebeest started breathing again and then sat up before standing up and walking away apparently unharmed.”