Jordan Davidson managed to film a sneaky lioness stalking an unsuspecting brown hyena in an incredibly rare sighting in the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve.
Jordan is a senior trails guide at the reserve and he witnessed the spectacle while on a safari with his guests.
Jordan related to Latest Sightings how it all began: “We had departed on our morning drive with the hope of catching the lions awake and walking before they found the shade and flopped down for the day.”
He continued: “One of the guides called in a brown hyena sighting, but with a youngish lioness stalking it. We were a few minutes’ drive away, and my initial thought was that were going to miss the action. I took the chance and spoke to my guests and told them the situation. We decided to leave the hippo we were watching at the time, and find the lioness instead.”
Lioness spotted stalking towards hyena
He said that as they approached the area, they spotted the lioness stalking through the khanna bushes on a deeply eroded channel.
“Further south along the opposite channel we saw the hyena sniffing, walking, and foraging. It had no idea that the lioness was nearby!”
The lioness was still fairly far away from the hyena when he started to film. She stalked through the dense, low-lying bushes; her tawny coat visible from the road from which Jordan and his guests watched her from their vehicle.
Jordan described her as a ‘young, playful lioness’, however this didn’t stop her careful stalking.
He explained that this particular lioness wasn’t part of a pride and lived on her own.
Brown hyenas live in clans but forage and scavenge on their own. They are a very low-key species. You hardly ever see them out and about during the daylight hours.
“Luckily for us, it was a very cold morning with cloud cover which allowed for this hyena to stay out longer. I was extremely interested in seeing how the hyena was going to defend itself against a lion whose strength is incredible.”
Lioness launches unexpected ambush
The lioness stalked towards the hyena and it was a scintillating moment. The unsuspecting hyena was still turned the other way.
Everyone wondered what the outcome would be.
When she was close enough, the lioness broke into a sprint, scaring the bejeebers out of the poor hyena!
Hyena evades lioness’ pursuit
“I quickly managed to pull up alongside to where the hyena was situated and waited,” Jordan recalled. “It didn’t take long for the action to unfold. She launched her attack we were surprised to see that she didn’t finish the kill.”
It must’ve been her playful mood… or even the hyena’s strange noises which put her off! The hyena managed to slip through her claws and confuse her.
“Nonetheless it was a fantastic sighting!” said Jordan. “I have personally been waiting years for this specific encounter to happen.”
And happen it did!
“The Klein Karoo where Sanbona is located is unique from a wildlife/habitat point of view. It straddles both the fynbos, as well as the succulent Karoo biomes,” explained Jordan. “The landscapes offer a visual feast, with plenty to find. It’s like a living jewelry box with its diversity of succulents. All this, coupled with an abundance of animals, allows for truly unique encounters which one doesn’t find anywhere else.”
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