There is nothing quite like seeing your child in impending danger to bring out those fearless 'mama bear' qualities in a mother, and no one knows this better than Liz Hurley.
The actress has recalled the moment when she decapitated a snake that was about to attack her son, Damian.
Liz, who made the revelation during a recent interview, recounted the frightening incident from when Damian - now 15 - was just a baby.
"Once, when we were in Spain, a snake slithered towards his Moses basket, and I leapt over a table like d'Artagnan and cut its head off with an axe," she said.
"Note to others: never get between a lioness and her cubs."
The Austin Powers actress welcomed Damian, her son with businessman ex Steve Bing, back in 2002. She raised him largely on her own, with the help of her mother and sister.
Opening up about the greatest lesson that Damian has taught her, the 52-year-old mused: "How to survive swimming with sharks - the human ones.
"But he's also taught me that men are simpler than ladies. Food, cuddles and sleep seem to keep them happy."
Liz has often spoken about the wonderful transformative impact that motherhood has had on her, admitting that putting her son ahead of her career was the best decision she ever made.
"Looking after my son became my number one task, and it was a joy to have someone else on whom to focus," she told Closer.
"I was 36 and had been worrying about myself for quite long enough. I stopped doing movies and TV for the first eight years of his life, and I don't regret it for a moment. I always put him first."
It was this time out from Hollywood and acting that led Liz to launch her own swimwear brand, which has grown from strength to strength in recent times.
The range is a particular favourite among the star's fans, who flock to her Instagram page to see her modelling her self-designed bikinis, swimsuits, kaftans and cover-ups.
If there's one thing that we've learned from Liz's latest story, it's that while we may never look like her, we certainly have the same motherly instincts!
