Seeing awesome predators like lions closing in on their prey is always an amazing experience. The ability of these animals to creep closer to their prey and bring them down makes for some stunning high speed sightings.
This footage was sent to Latest Sightings by Life is Sheedy, and it was taken in the Kruger National Park, at the Elephant Walk Retreat, near Crocodile Bridge.
A Family Of Warthogs
The beginning of the footage shows a family of warthogs, which were completely unaware of the danger they were in as they grazed on the short grass.
It appeared to be a carefree and relaxed evening for the hogs, but in the wild that can all change in a second, as they were at risk of becoming a meal to the lions in the area even as they enjoyed a meal of their own.
Under Supervision
As the camera panned to the left, it revealed that the warthogs were under close supervision by a hungry lioness that was keeping an eye on their every movement.
Lions are not endurance sprinters, and they hunt by sneaking up close to their prey before using explosive bursts of energy to capture their meal before it even has a chance to run.
This lioness wasn’t quite close enough for such a sudden attack, but if one of the hogs was unlucky enough to come too close, then it might find itself on the sharp end of the lioness’s claws.
A Sudden Attack
It turned out that although this lioness wasn’t close enough to leap out at her prey, she was ready and waiting for one to come her way. A second lioness had crept closer to the warthogs without them noticing, and their coordination gave them an edge in this hunt.
This second lioness had camouflaged itself perfectly in the long grass right next to the warthogs, which seemingly had no idea it was even there. This one was close enough to pounce, and it was getting ready to do so, before suddenly the warthogs realized she was there.
Exactly what tipped the warthogs off that they were in mortal peril was unclear, it seemed like the lioness had slightly underestimated the distance between them, and as she surged up out of the grass they had time to scatter.
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Laser-Focused Hunt
Now that they were in disarray, the first lioness had the opportunity to close in without causing them to flee. The second one had already decided on a target and the two cats moved rapidly to pincer the unlucky hog.
The tactics used by the lionesses were impeccable, with one herding the chosen hog towards the other, to make sure that they had a greater chance of capturing it. The rest of them had scattered far enough that they were unlikely to be targeted, meaning these lionesses had to succeed.
The first lioness had closed quickly, but she stumbled as the hog managed to slip past her, leaving the second to be the one to make the catch. This was an amazing sighting that showed off the deadly speed of these lions, and their amazing ambush tactics.