After bringing down an impala, this pack of African wild dogs focused on finishing off every last scrap. Consequently, they were unaware that danger lay in wait.
William Friend shared this intense footage with Latest Sightings. He filmed the action while on a game drive in South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park.
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A feast for friends
As we join William at the sighting, we encounter a pack of African wild dogs. According to William, the dogs had caught an impala earlier.
African wild dogs are social predators that cooperatively pursue prey to exhaustion before devouring it. Sadly, there are fewer than 6,500 alive in the wild, confined largely to protected areas in eastern and southern Africa.
Competitive predators
While the dogs scour the ground for any remaining scraps, they fail to notice that they are being watched by their greatest enemies. Undetected, a lioness has stalked closer and hidden herself in the tall grass.
Lions are Africa’s top predators, and they don’t hesitate to hunt down other predators with which they compete for territory and resources.
Focused on food
Blissfully unaware of the threat nearby, one of the dogs finds a sizable chunk of flesh lying in the grass. Wild dog feeding is a frenzy, so chunks like this are easily discarded.
Nevertheless, one of the dogs has had its fill and begins to wander off. Wild dogs can eat up to 9 kg, or one-third of their body weight, in one meal. To sustain their high metabolism, they average around 6 kg of meat per day.
As the other dogs see their friend’s find, they clamour about him, hoping for a morsel. Meanwhile, the other dog wanders ever closer to the lion’s hiding place.
Different hunting strategies
As we watch the stray, it walks to within metres of where the lioness was last seen. The dog’s behaviour suggests it knows something is up, but it seems to doubt its senses.
Unlike the dogs, which are pursuit predators, lions are ambush predators. Their hunting strategy typically involves stalking to within striking distance before launching a surprise blitz attack.
Just then, the dog turns to rejoin its friends. In the process, it unwittingly gives the lioness the moment she’d been waiting for.
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Surprise!!!
As the lioness’s head pops up above the grass, none of the dogs notice. With the element of surprise and at only a few metres away, everything is going according to plan.
Feline predators have an incredibly high concentration of fast-twitch muscle fibres that give them explosive power from a standing start.
Consequently, in just a few strides, she is ready to sink her deadly claws and fangs into the dog. Meanwhile, the dog hears her and turns, shocked to find the lioness bearing down on it.
Miraculous reaction
Then something truly miraculous happens. More by reflex than design, the dog snaps its jaws down on the lion’s face.
Momentarily stunned, the cat loses her advantage.
And that’s all the time the dog needs to escape, as a burst of adrenaline sees it dash to safety.
With her first target gone, the lioness looks for another victim. But it is too late; she has lost her advantage, and the pack survives to hunt another day.
