A hippo mum chased mating lions away from a watering hole before going head to head with a massive male to protect her calf.

Brass Brassett was leading a tour through Balule Nature Reserve, South Africa, on May 7 when he spotted two big cats spending some quality time together near the water’s edge.

Dramatic footage captured the moment a huge female hippo sprinted out of the water and chased the amorous lions away to deter any possible threat to her baby.

Having dispersed the lions, the mama hippo then went head to head with a giant male to allow her two-month-old calf to swim past him in peace.

Brass said: “In 15 years of guiding I have never seen anything like this. It's incredible and a privilege to be in the right place at the right time to bear witness to an interaction like this.

“Like all mums, mama hippo was intent on keeping her baby safe. Although they had no interest in them, she pushed the lions off three times until she was happy with the distance between them and the dam.

“But at the time, these lions were focused on the job in hand – mating. All they wanted to do was quench their thirst on a typically hot Lowveld morning.

“She was not just kept busy by the lions. As her baby hippo re-entered the water, a rogue bull hippo moved dangerously close to the calf.

“Bulls will kill a calf that is not theirs, especially if it is a male. In an instant, mama rushed and challenged the bull hippo, keeping her calf safe.

“Lions are opportunistic hunters and in the very unlikely event the calf was out of the water and far from its very protective mama, likely the lions would not have passed up on the opportunity.”