It’s never fun to have to watch someone else tuck into a meal if you were looking forward to it, but that’s exactly what this lion had to do, as it watched on helplessly from land as a crocodile enjoyed its meal.
Ruan De Jager caught this footage of the two animals near Letaba in the Kruger National Park, and sent it in to Latest Sightings. The two powerful predators, one of the land and one of the water, had had differing levels of success this time.
Dealing With Jealousy
The lion was crouching on a small spit of land, watching the crocodile working at its meal, and no doubt angry or upset that it didn’t have the baby hippo for itself to eat.
Because every animal needs to come to water to drink eventually, lions and other predators often use them as ambush sites, but nothing is more capable at ambushing animals at the water’s edge than crocodiles.
Oddly enough, hippos also pose significant threats to other animals around water, but this time an adult hippopotamus was nowhere to be found, leaving the baby vulnerable.
Going Hungry
Either way, the lion had been unsuccessful in its hunt, and it would need to try somewhere else while the crocodile enjoyed the spoils of its efforts, tearing into the carcass of its prey, and rubbing its own success in the big cat’s face without even meaning to.
After watching for only a short time, the lion accepted that this just wasn’t going to be its day, and it left its cover behind a large bush, and turn to slowly leave the area.
Maybe it would have more luck out in the plains rather than by the water’s edge, where there were no large crocodiles to compete with. Even for lions and their cubs, the water’s edge can be a risky place.
To The Victor Goes The Spoils
If the crocodile was aware that it had an audience to its meal then it gave no notice of it. It must have caught the baby hippo only a few moments before as it was still working at the carcass, separating the flesh from the bones.
Lacking the long arms to hold the carcass down while and use their jaws to tear off mouthfuls of meat, crocodiles have developed other ways to reduce their prey to smaller morsels that are easy to swallow.
This croc was showing these methods for all to see, using its powerful tail to lift itself slightly out of the water and whip the carcass of the hippo around its head.
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If It Works It Works
While this method might appear to be a little violent, it’s the best way for crocodiles to break up their meals into smaller portions. Immediately after flinging the carcass through the air, the crocodile can be seen chewing at the meat it had torn off.
Typically predators take a dim view on each other’s presence, particularly ones which hunt from the same sources of prey. Often, they even fight with each other to try and ensure that the other leaves them, and their potential meals, alone.
This footage, though, shows one predator as a humble loser in the game for prey, as despite eating many of the same animals, lions and crocodiles are different enough that a fight between them would achieve very little.