WATCH | Wild dog plays dead to escape a pride of hungry lions

A wild dog has demonstrated that having some brains can get you to live through a clash with lions, after playing dead to escape a near-death moment in Khwai, Botswana.

The astonishing footage, shared by Latest Sightings, showed two wild dogs accidentally bumping into a pride of hungry lions as its lead male feasts on the carcass of a wildebeest.

The lions pounce, snatching the first dog and pinning it to the ground, while the second dodged the dangerous encounter.

Klaus Boehmer, who captured the moment, described it as “shell-shocking”.

The German engineer said the pinned wild dog got away by making use of the pride's carelessness.

“Not even the veterans of the guides had witnessed anything remotely similar before. And that was not even the end of it,” he said.

“While the people around me thought the dog was dead, I noticed it was still moving. Nevertheless, the lions hardly paid any attention to their foe, instead of killing the dog for good, they spread out again.

“Most of us were happy, after all, it is only human to cheer for the (in this case literally) underdog. My daughter, however, felt a bit sorry for the lion who had let the dog escape.”

The video was taken on July 20 2017, but has recently been shared online.