A pair of lions found themselves facing down an entire buffalo herd in the Timbavati reserve when their prey called out for support. Riesdah Gabier sent in the footage to Latest Sightings.
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This amazing sighting shows how prey animals can work together to ward off predators and keep themselves safe. It also shows how effective lions can be when taking down big animals like buffalo.
Riesdah told Latest Sightings that they’d “been following these two young lions for a few days,” and that the lions “were very diligent” when it came to their hunt.
Dangerous Prey
Due to their immense size, weight, and large horns, buffalo are definitely not considered easy prey. These are strong animals more than capable of injuring a lion severely, or outright killing it.
They are also herd animals, and when lions attack, they have learned to form a circle around the most vulnerable members of the herd with their horns facing outward. This kind of teamwork makes it incredibly difficult for even determined lions to secure a kill.
The herd can’t be everywhere at once, however, and according to Riesdah, these two lions had spotted “two injured buffaloes slowing down the main herd”. Either one of these would be more vulnerable to an attack, the lions just had to wait for the opportunity.
Deadly Precision
Lions are incredibly strong hunters, and they aren’t considered the king of predators for nothing, but a buffalo is very difficult to take alone. Together, these two lions waited patiently for one of the injured buffalo to fall behind.
Keeping track of one pair of horns is much easier than keeping track of many. When their target was separated from the herd, it couldn’t defend itself nearly as effectively.
Sensing their opportunity, the two lions moved in swiftly for the kill, standing on each side of the buffalo so that it couldn’t attack both at once with its horns.
Dancing For Survival
These amazing predators are far too clever to simply charge at the buffalo. They close in slowly, keeping an eye on those dangerous horns, and start trying to get behind it.
The result is some kind of strange dance, as the lions darted first one way and then the other, with the buffalo turning its heavy head to try and keep up. If they could get behind it and out of reach of its horns, then the lions would have the upper hand.
While the female lions watched, the male managed to get behind the buffalo, and showed off its own strength with a savage leap, landing on the buffalo’s hindquarters and bringing it down to the ground.
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The Buffalo Cavalry
With the buffalo unable to move, the female lion pounced as well, weighing the buffalo down even further as it repeatedly tried to rise and fight them off. It was going well for the lions, but they’d miscalculated.
It’s hard not to imagine a heroic soundtrack as the buffalo herd, hearing the cries of the stricken individual, turned and charged. With their horns lowered, they locked onto the lions and scared them away.
The male lion especially tried to hang onto his meal, but facing down a wall of angry buffalo was enough to scare him away. Buffalo was not on the menu for these lions, as they fled the scene, but their attempt might still have had disastrous results for their target, and its survival is uncertain.