While lion hunts fail more often than they succeed, when they do, they epitomise ruthless efficiency. In this dramatic footage, a young warthog’s escape is brought to an abrupt end.
Tara-Lynn Svensson submitted this dramatic footage to Latest Sightings. She filmed it at a waterhole in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Behind meagre cover
As we join Tara-Lynn at her sighting, we see a pride of lion lying in the shade. Out of view, a family of warthogs is making their way down to the water.
As they do, one of the lionesses tracks their movement, her muscles twitching in anticipation.
The hunt is on
Suddenly, she bursts from cover, rushing towards the unsuspecting warthogs. According to Tara-Lynn, the moment the pigs saw her coming, they scattered.
While the rest of the warthogs ran away together, one youngster was separated from its family.
By isolating itself, the warthog became the lioness’s obvious target. In just a few strides, she was on it in a cloud of dust.
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Miraculous escape
Miraculously, the little pig somehow managed to evade the lion’s clutches.
However, as another lioness closed in, things were looking increasingly dire.
Path blocked
Meanwhile, the first lioness resumed her pursuit, forcing the pig towards the water.
As the pig fled along the water’s edge, it realised its path was blocked. Accordingly, it pulled a sharp U-turn, hoping to outmanoeuvre the lioness.
Smaller and more agile than the cat, the warthog doubled back. However, it was in for a nasty surprise.
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A nasty surprise
As it sprinted to escape the first lion, it spotted the second lioness approaching at pace.
In desperation, the poor pig tried to evade it. However, it was no match for the experienced lion’s reflexes.
Stretching out one massive paw, the lioness swatted the warthog to the ground while her sister watched. In a flash, she bit into the squealing warthog’s flesh.
Seconds later, the first lioness joined her.
Incredibly, the warthog was still alive at this point.
Many mouths to feed
Meanwhile, the rest of the pride rushed in to join the fray, including two more lionesses and four cubs.
Now, this small pig was never going to go far with so many mouths to feed.
Consequently, as they converged on the kill, there was vicious competition for the flesh. Suddenly, one of the killing pair rose with the warthog’s leg held aloft.
Seconds later, the scrum broke up as a second lioness ran off with the bulk of the carcass.
As Tara-Lynn’s video comes to an end, the rest of the pride sniffs for scraps. You’ll note that the cubs are not fed first.
As closely bonded as lion prides are, once they are weaned, cubs must fend for themselves when it comes to food. In Africa, only the toughest survive.
