This crafty porcupine proved it was one prickly customer by keeping a pride of lions at bay using just his spines. Proving it isn’t always the size of the dog in the fight, the cornered prey keeps its back to seven hungry would-be predators. Watched by Hennie Bekker in Kruger National Park, South Africa, on January 14, the lions circled the trapped porcupine in a horse shoe formation. Despite multiple attempts to get closer to their potential meal, the big cats are thwarted at every turn by the sharp spines in their faces.