An active lion pride on the prowl probably thought they found a nugget of prey alone, outnumbered and vulnerable. But what they didn't expect was this animal to stand its ground and have a defensive tool up its sleeve.

Lucien Beaumont, a guide with the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa, witnessed the stand off between 17 lions and a lone porcupine.

"This is not an ideal place to be, especially if you feature on the menu of a lion!" Beaumont wrote in a blog post about the encounter.

Image source: YouTube

Footage taken of the meeting though shows the porcupine biding its time. At one point, a lion got a little too curious and swatted at it. The contact caused painful quills to be released, sending the offending lion hopping off in surprised pain.

Eventually, the lions decided the prickly character was not worth their time and sauntered off, their pride — and perhaps paws — a little stung.

Image source: YouTube

Watch the footage:

"This very lucky porcupine managed to survive. The lionesses of the Mhangeni pride lost interest and began to move off. The cubs soon lost their bravery and backed off, leaving the porcupine to disappear into the night and live to see another day," Beaumont wrote.

(H/T: Huffington Post)