Thokozani Phakathi caught this hunting attempt on camera during a visit to the Kruger National Park. The lions had already cornered the giraffe by the time Thokozani came across them, on the H4-2 returning from Crocodile Bridge Camp.
Thokozani told Latest Sightings he “stopped to see how the hunt would play out”, and said that even though the lions were doing their best, the giraffe “was firing kicks from hell”.
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The giraffe might have appeared to be isolated and vulnerable to the hungry lions, but its defenses were too strong for the lionesses to get through quickly, and they had to settle in for an extended battle.
Giraffe Under Siege
Despite being alone, and facing “a pride of approximately 8 lions” according to Thokozani, the giraffe had managed to fight its attackers to a stand still.
The lions had it surrounded and unable to escape, but still the giraffe stood undaunted as they looked for a break in its formidable defenses.
Those defenses consisted of lighting fast kicks both forwards and backwards, at any unfortunate lions which came too close. These kicks are a giraffe’s primary defense against predators, after a surprisingly fast running speed for their size.
Without the option to escape, this giraffe used its fighting skills to keep the felines at bay with kicks powerful enough to kill if they connected with the head or neck. But, despite this ferocity, the giraffe couldn’t force its way out of the circle of lions.
Armed And Dangerous
The lionesses for their part were wary of the giraffe’s legs, but they knew that its size would work against it, and if they could bring it down to the ground it would be trivial for them to win the battle.
They attacked by leaping up at the giraffe’s relatively unprotected flanks, but otherwise kept their distance as much as possible, waiting for their prey to tire itself out.
Thokozani noted their strategy, saying the “lions were very cautious and didn’t want to risk injury or death”, as a minor injury now could result in one or more lionesses being unable to hunt in the future.
Difficult Prey
An adult giraffe is not easy to attack, so the fact that these lionesses were attempting it meant they had been unsuccessful in finding easier prey. Most predators will only attack giraffes if they have no other option, and even then they’ll avoid the adults in preference of the young and the weak.
In this case the lionesses had opted for the strategy of wearing down the giraffe over time, relying on their superior numbers to keep it trapped, and to prevent it from resting by keeping up a constant attack.
The “lions were taking turns in harassing, scaring and exhausting the giraffe for a few minutes”, Thokozani said, and in-between attacks the lions would rest while others kept up the assault.
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An Indeterminate End
Unfortunately, Thokozani wasn’t able to see if the lions succeeded in taking down the giraffe or not as “due to the gate time, we had to abandon the breath-taking sighting and never saw the final outcome”.
Whether or not the giraffe survived or not is a matter of guesswork, although it does seem likely that the lionesses managed to bring it down eventually. If they managed it without injury is an entirely different question, however.
Even without a definite outcome, Thokozani was thrilled to witness such an amazing sighting, saying it’s “memorable sightings like these that make Kruger National Park such a special place”.