A photographer captured a rare scene involving two fierce lions in the wild

Photographer Urmil Jhaveri managed to shoot one of the most exceptional videos of his career at Gir Forest National Park, in north-western India.

As you'll see in the video, which was uploaded on YouTube account Hashtag Studios and shared by RT, a lion and lioness faced off before mating.

When the male lion tries to get close to her, the female roars loudly and stands up to him. You can even see her jabbing the lion when he tries to approach her.

Although this is a normal part of lions' mating ritual, said ritual has onlyrarely been filmed in the wild. And this lucky photographer is one of the select few who've successfully captured it! Jhaveri commented on the breathtaking event:

I have been observing & documenting Asiatic lions for close to nine years now and never ever came across such a moment. I am thrilled and super excited having filmed this moment.

According to RT, male Asianlions live far from the females and only come into contact with them when it's time to mate. Also worth noting, they're among the most threatened cats on the planet, and there are only about 650 of them left, all living at the Gir Forest Natural Park, in the state of Gujarat.