These gruesome photos show a male lion ripping into the body of a cub in a rarely seen act of cannibalism

These gruesome photos show a male lion ripping into the body of a cub in a rarely seen act of cannibalism.

The powerful big cat was spotted by photographers who thought they were watching a mating couple in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania but were shocked to see a lion's paw flick up above the long grass as he devoured a meal.

What makes the act even more shocking is the fact that the female sitting with him is almost certainly a relative and even likely to be its mother, as male lions usually kill the young as a territorial act when they take over a new pride.