Francois Visagie submitted this remarkable footage to Latest Sightings. He filmed it on the plains near Satara Restcamp, in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Low-lying lion
Francois’s video begins with a view of a lioness crouching low to the ground. Judging by her posture and focused attention, it is clear that she is in hunting mode.
As we can see, very little conceals her stalk. She is relying entirely on stealth, as any disturbance might startle her as yet unseen target.
Lions are ambush hunters. This means that they must get as close as possible to their prey before launching a blitz attack. Lacking stamina, they are unlikely to catch prey over distances exceeding 400 metres.
Adaptive approach strategy
After inching closer on her belly, something prompts her to accelerate her approach. Lions will watch what their prey is doing and act accordingly.
For example, she will wait until her quarry has its head down grazing before advancing. With her attention keenly focused on the target, she carefully picks her way across the veld.
Paw-by-paw progress
Consequently, when her target remains oblivious of her presence, the skilled hunter gains confidence. Still, she is careful to lift and place each paw just so, lest it alert her prey to her presence.
Occasionally, a lion’s “excitement” will get the better of it, resulting in a failed hunt. However, despite moving fairly rapidly across open ground in broad daylight, she remains undetected.
Perfect marks, so far
Finally, her intended prey comes into view, revealing a lone zebra stallion with its back to her… still unaware of the approaching threat.
Against incredible odds, the lioness has avoided detection and is now within a few feet of the zebra. At this point, it seems like a sure thing that Francois is about to film an amazing kill.
Blow-by-blow
As the moment of truth arrives, the lioness bunches her muscles and pounces. Her extended paw hides 5 claws, each 1.5 to 2 inches (3.8 to 5 cm) long, designed to sink into her prey and impede escape.
A lion’s recurved claws are designed to anchor into a fleeing target. In circumstances like this, you’d expect the zebra’s first move to be directed away from the lion.
Subsequently, as both paws make contact with the zebra’s flank, it realizes that it is under attack. With the lion’s mouth just moments from biting into its rump, it does the unexpected.
Instead of bolting forward, it dips its head and pushes backwards. Then, in the same movement, it pivots to the left.
Accidentally on purpose
Whether by accident or design, this seems to limit the extent to which the lion’s claws are embedded in its skin. Then, the stallion deploys its own predator counter-measure: a powerful backward kick with both legs.
Fortunately for the lioness, she somehow ends up between the zebra’s splayed hooves, avoiding a cracking kick to the body or head.
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Free. Fall.
Nevertheless, the net result is that the lioness loses her grip. As the zebra widens the gap between them, the lioness falls to the ground behind it.
Only the lion’s incredible reflexes and legendary ability to land on its feet spare the predator from a much heavier fall.
Left in a cloud
Unsurprisingly, the zebra doesn’t hang around. Instead, the lioness is quite literally left in its dust as it gallops into the distance.
This incident proves that in Nature, even a sure thing never comes guaranteed.
