As apex predators, lions are incredibly dangerous animals capable of bringing down prey much larger and heavier than them. This potential doesn’t guarantee them success in their more ambitious hunts, which this pride found out the hard way.
Sara Zegut spotted this group of lions, named the Birmingham Breakaway Pride, hunting in the Timbavati Game Reserve in South Africa, and caught their attempt on camera. She sent the footage in to Latest Sightings, along with the story.
The lions had reportedly been stalking the buffalo herd for several days, and now they’d decided they had good odds of bringing one down and making a meal of it.
Targeting The Neck
Like other big cats, lions tend to target the neck of their prey when killing them, as it’s an exploitable weak spot that can end a fight quickly without needing to risk a protracted confrontation.
Smaller predators, like hyenas and wild dogs, don’t have the strength to utilize such tactics, and lions are one of the only animals with the strength to try it on something as large as an adult buffalo.
At the beginning of Sara’s footage, a lion had the buffalo caught firmly in its claws and teeth, all clamped around its prey’s neck. But a single lion wasn’t strong enough to bring it to the ground, and the buffalo was still able to lift and move its head which made the lions look bad.
From Bad To Worse
While the hopeful lion dangled from the neck of its intended prey, something gave the rest of the pride a fright large enough for them to suddenly start sprinting in the other direction.
Moments later a second buffalo came into view, chasing the rest of the pride away from the fight. If a single lion lacked the strength to defeat a largely docile buffalo, then the pride could do nothing to stop a raging buffalo in the midst of a charge.
Fierce Protector
After chasing away most of the pride, the buffalo turned its attention to the lion still clinging to its prey. With a slight move of its massive head, and the help of its large and sharp horns, it was able to convince the lion that this was not the time to stand firm.
Not quite the regal apex predator it might have been in a different context, the humbled lion was knocked aside as if it weighed nothing, and it hurried after the rest of its pride.
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Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
With the lion pride thoroughly vanquished, the two buffalo lingered for a moment. One of them had come close to being nothing more than a meal, and although it appeared to be unharmed, it must have been ridiculously stressed.
While the protector stood firm the victimized buffalo began heading back towards the safety of the herd, and away from the dangerous lions that would surely try again if they had the chance.
Although they are a deadly apex predator, even lions can still fail when their prey presents a united front. Despite their lack of success, the sighting was one to remember, and Sara described it as a privilege to witness.
