The bigger they are the harder they fall

• Pair of lions tracked elderly giraffe all night trying to kill it
• Prey, which was blind in one eye, kept running to try and escape
• Once it realised escape was impossible it turned to face its hunters
• Exhausted giant was no match for young lions, who brought it down

These dramatic photographs show the moment two young lions managed to bring down a fully grown giraffe.
After being hunted through the night by a hungry lion pride, the exhausted giraffe realises escape is futile and turns to face his adversaries in one last stand for survival.
But despite being weary from the chase, as well as being blind in one eye, the old timer is determined not to go down without a fight and tries desperately to scare the daring duo away.

This is the moment two lions took down a giraffe in Etosha National Park, Nambia, after tracking it all night

Despite being exhausted from the pursuit and blind in one eye, the giraffe was able to keep the lions back

Spotted at Etosha National Park, Namibia in South West Africa, the plucky pair are then seen carefully circling the towering beast, keen to avoid a potential lethal kick.
Taken by South African photographer, Morkel Erasmus, 31, the experienced bushman noticed battle scars on the hide of the giraffe, suggesting this wasn't its first deadly encounter with lions.
However, this time it wasn't so lucky and the hours spent on the run had weakened the gentle giant.
The ferocious lions attacked the giraffe's hind legs finally got the better of the giraffe as it fell to the ground.
Morkel said: "The lions had made turns in running the giraffe down all night long, and he had survived this far but this was the last stand, his Gettysburg.

Even an elderly giraffe has legs strong enough to deliver a fatal kick, so the lions were cautious while attacking

But one of the lions managed to get hold of the animal's back leg, weighing it down for the other to attack

'Nevertheless, tired and old as he was, he wasn't going to merely lay down and let his assailants overcome him.
'Giraffes have immense hooves and muscular, long, powerful legs with which to fling those hooves at would-be assailants with enough force to deal out a lethal blow.
'This old guy was unfortunately just too tired to kick with this kind of ferocity, he did lash out a few kicks and swing around to meet his attackers a few times, but his kicks showed his fatigue.
'And then one of the young male lions found a grab hold onto the buttocks of the giraffe, on his blind side.
'With his right leg bogged down, the giraffe could only do so much, his spirit was brave, but his body was weak, the inevitable happened and a second leg was grabbed.

Photographer Morkel Erasmus, 31, said: 'With his right leg bogged down, the giraffe could only do so much. The inevitable happened and a second leg was grabbed'

Once the two hunters had brought the giant down to the ground, it didn't have the strength to get up

'Given the level of fatigue the old giraffe had displayed, I wasn't surprised that he could not shake the lion from his leg but he tried valiantly to keep the second attacker at bay.
'And then, a mere 30 seconds after the first lion got a proper grip, he tumbled to the ground, a fallen giant, a defeated warrior, a vanquished fortress.
'It's a strange duality of the life of a wildlife photographer, finding joy and adrenaline at the chance of photographing these things, but also finding sadness and empathy with the victim.'

Having tracked the giraffe all night, the lions moved in to feast as soon as the beast was on the ground