In a moment of intense excitement, these wildlife lovers watched a lion make a kill at close quarters. As the dust settled, it was apparent they weren’t the only ones that noticed the commotion.
Vadia Rautenbach Fourie submitted this intense footage to Latest Sightings. She filmed the action on the S121 road in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Chaos erupts
We join Vadia at the sighting as chaos erupts. In her account of the incident, she said she had earlier watched two lionesses move into position, hoping to catch a zebra.
Consequently, as her camera pans wildly, we glimpse an adult zebra running as the lions launch their attack. As the zebra gallops by, we hear it braying in alarm.
Within touching distance
What happens next all but takes Vadia’s breath away. As she follows the action, she catches the moment one of the lionesses pulls down a zebra foal.
The takedown was so close that her partner sitting alongside her didn’t even realise what had happened. Thankfully, Vadia had the composure to capture the action right next to their vehicle.
In the above image, you can see the front fender of their vehicle as the unfortunate foal is completely overwhelmed by the lioness’s ferocious onslaught.
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No contest
After bringing the foal down, the ruthless lioness sank her massive canines into the base of its skull. With larger prey, lions might go for a throat grip.
However, with smaller prey, they occasionally kill the animal with a bite to the spine or through the skull into the brain.
Leaving the scene
Consequently, the lioness had subdued her prey within seconds of bringing it down. Wasting no time, she immediately dragged it away from where an audibly shaken Vadia continued filming.
Subsequently, it appears as if the lioness also managed to break the foal’s neck. Accordingly, the lioness is able to drag it away with little fuss.
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Into cover
Rather than consume the foal in the open where she risks discovery by vultures, the lioness drags the carcass into the thick bush alongside the road.
This strategy also reduces the chances of discovery by land-based scavengers, particularly spotted hyenas. In sufficient numbers, hyenas are lions’ main competition for food.
As she deposits the carcass, the other lioness joins her. Once she recovers, she’ll join her pride mate in the feast.
Unwanted visitor arrives
However, as Vadia pans away, we see that the commotion has already drawn the attention of an unwanted visitor.
Emerging from the bush nearby, a lone hyena approaches cautiously. No doubt, it heard the zebra’s alarm calls earlier and has just arrived to investigate.
However, as Vadia told Latest Sightings, no sooner did the hyena spot the two lions than it did an abrupt about-turn and departed. Sometimes survival means choosing your battles wisely.
