The scintiillating sighting was filmed by Jantjie Bessenger near to the Shingwedzi Camp in the Kruger National Park.
Jantjie, who has an Instagram account showcasing his photography (Instagram: jantjieb_wildlife_photography5), filmed the rare hunt using his Nikon D8507 camera.
He explained the events leading to the sighting: “We were driving on the gravel road on our way to spend the night at Shingwedzi when we spotted a few lions lying in the riverbed.”
Jantjie explained that he counted seven lions. This in itself was an impressive sighting, however the action was about to be stirred up.
“Just after midday, around 12:05pm, a few warthogs came down to drink water,” said Jantjie.
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“One of the lionesses saw the movement of the warthogs at the water. She immediately went into stalking mode, moving closer to the warthogs. She came close before they saw her and started running.”
More action ensued: “The lioness started chasing the warthogs up towards the riverbed.”
Jantjies explained that a few of the warthogs scattered left and a few, right and eventually the lioness stop the chase.
“We thought she missed her killed but seconds later we heard one warthog screaming as it ran into the big pride of lions. We actually heard the kill!”
Jantjies, together with the other game viewers, including those in a few cars parked at the site, were enthralled by the moment.
He said that within give minutes, the lions returned to lie in the riverbed.
A little while later, a buffalo entered the vicinity, taking the same route the warthogs had earlier “Two of the lionesses saw the buffalo and went into stalk mode,” Jantjie recalled. This is when things became interesting.
The buffalo saw the lions and started running. However, accordng to Jantjie, lions came out towards him from all directions.
He counted 22 in total!
The action was epic. The buffalo tried to defend itself, however, it was surrounded from all sides.
The lions showed their musculature and sheer strength as they coordinated a well-executed onslaught. These were expert hunters, and while the buffalo put on a good fight, it was clearly outnumbered.
These lions meant business!
The marvelous display of strength and resilience was caught beautifully on camera by Jantjie.
However, ultimately there is strength in numbers and the lions overcame the buffalo.
This was a magnificant display of pride teamwork and a memorable moment for Jantjie.
Jantjie explained for Latest Sightings: The first stalk and kill with the warthog started at 12:05pm, and the second kill of the buffalo was completed just after 12:20pm. I have never seen an actual kill in my life and in 20 minutes, I saw the same pride first take down a warthog and then a buffalo. How amazing!”
To other game enthusiasts, he gives this advice: “Always drive slowly. If you stand still the bush, since the animals are always moving, you will get more and better sightings.”
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