Mark Fox and Mischa sent this footage to Latest Sightings. They filmed it on the S108 in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Fallen
We join the sighting, which reveals a grim sight. A male lion lies dead in the grass, apparently killed during a territorial fight with another male.
As we watch, the camera person zooms in on its muzzle, possibly hoping to identify it by its unique “whisker-spot” pattern.
A giant looks on
Additional footage we received showed that the deceased male must have been with its pride when the fight took place. Initially, the pride lingered near his body, but a herd of elephants moved through the area and drove them away.
Then, seemingly unaware of the lion’s body, one of the herd bulls browsed just metres away. It seems only when it turned to move on, that it noticed the lion.
Alarmed, the bull flared his ears in alarm, but quickly realised that it no longer posed a threat.
Then, without so much as a sniff, the elephant moved on.
Cannibal cub
In the next scene, the sighting takes a decidedly macabre turn. Seen feasting from the carcass is a young lion, presumably one of the sub-adults from the pride that the elephants chased off earlier.
While this behaviour isn’t unheard of, it remains extremely rare. In previously recorded incidents, the lions involved had no known relation to each other.
So, to see what is presumably the male’s offspring feeding from its father’s carcass is exceptional.
On close inspection, though, we can see the pronounced hip bones of the cub, suggesting that it is doing so out of extreme hunger.
However, although the footage doesn’t show them, other sub-adults were nearby, but only one cub is known to have fed from the carcass.
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Other scavengers
As the lion’s body was opened up, the scent of its decaying flesh drew the attention of other scavengers. In due course, a spotted hyena arrived to investigate.
Hyenas and lions are mortal enemies, so it was with good reason that the hyena approached with caution. And, it is just as well, because the feeding lion was well aware of its approach.
Subsequently, when the hyena ventured too close, the youngster charged at it, sending it scampering away.
However, when the lion returned to its meal, the hyena stayed close by.
That this young lion was prepared to defend its meal from a hyena tells us that it must have been very hungry. In normal circumstances, a fully-grown hyena could kill a lion of this age.
As the video draws to a close, the young lion continues to feed on the dwindling remains of the adult cat. One cannot help but feel that this was an undignified ending for the once-regal male.
A violent life
For all their size and power, the life of an adult male lion is invariably violent.
On reaching maturity, young males must leave their mothers’ sides to fend for themselves. During this nomadic phase, resident males often kill them.
Those that survive will then need to fight for the rights to a territory of their own. And then, during their roughly five-year tenure, they must repeatedly defend against rivals and other threats.
Add the constant risk of injury and death during hunts, and it becomes clear that their lives are far from idyllic, truly defined by the phrase “survival of the fittest.”