As these wildlife lovers watched a pride of lazy lions, an unsuspecting arrival brought humour to the sighting. While some of the lions thought it might be a meal, others knew better.
Luan Swart submitted this amusing footage to Latest Sightings. She filmed it on the S28 gravel road in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Lazy lions lounging
As we join Luan at the sighting, we see a pride of 5 lions doing what lions seem to do best. Sprawled across the road, they’re saving their energy for nightfall.
The pride consists of three lionesses and two sub-adult males. Suddenly, a nearby rustling stirs some of the members.
Sharp hearing
Surprisingly, only two of the lions get up to investigate. They look towards some nearby bushes, from behind which the sound is coming.
As you’d expect of apex predators, lions have incredibly sharp hearing, often allowing them to hear prey long before they see it.
As the sound draws closer, the pair prepares to act. The same cannot be said for the rest of the pride.
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Not the reaction you’d expect
Sensing its imminent arrival, the two lions crouch, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting arrival. Just then, a lone honey badger emerges from behind the bush.
Subsequently, the badger senses the predators in its peripheral vision. Realising it might be in a spot of bother, it continues, almost as if pretending it didn’t see them.
Meanwhile, the lions remain rooted to the spot, as if surprised the badger hasn’t already bolted.
As for the third lion visible, it watches with casual disinterest.
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The chase is on
Just then, both species seem to come to their senses. As the badger changes direction, the two lions set off in pursuit.
Of course, the badger is relatively slow-moving, and it seems likely that the lions will quickly catch up to it.
As the badger runs up the road, it sees a vehicle ahead. Accordingly, it veers to the right behind another bush.
At this point, the lioness takes the lead, following the badger behind the bush and out of our line of sight.
As it does, we brace ourselves for what comes next…
Honey badger don’t care
No sooner does the lioness disappear from view than we hear a distinctly aggressive rattling sound. It is a noise made by honey badgers when they feel threatened.
Meanwhile, the young male stops, curiously watching the spectacle unfolding out of view. To his surprise, we can safely assume that the badger has turned to confront the lioness and is giving her a piece of his mind.
Realising they might need reinforcements, he looks back towards the pride.
However, they’re just as uninterested as they were when the badger first arrived. Clearly, they know better than to tangle with one of Africa’s bravest critters.
As the video ends, the rattling continues as the young lion looks on. If ever there was an instance to prove the meme that honey badgers don’t care, maybe this is it.
