There are bad days, and then there are really bad days. This buffalo was definitely having a really bad day as it tried to defend itself against not just one or two lions, but the entire pride.
Danielle Sheedy from the Elephant Walk Retreat caught this desperate defense on camera, and sent the footage to Latest Sightings. It was very tense for the buffalo, and survival was not guaranteed.
Living Life On The Edge
The lions appeared to have ambushed the buffalo at the water’s edge, where it had gone for a drink. The necessity of water for survival makes it a good spot for predators to lay in wait for prey animals to come along.
Together with predators like crocodiles that lurk just beneath the surface of the water, going for a drink can become a particularly dangerous activity. This buffalo had gambled on rehydrating itself, and unfortunately it had all gone wrong.
The entire pride of big cats had trapped it against the water’s edge so it had nowhere to run to safety, which meant its only choice was to try and fight its way out.
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Going Out With A Bang
Alone, the buffalo was horribly outnumbered. It wasn’t clear exactly how many lions were attacking because they kept hiding in the long grass, but it was at least five, and the buffalo could only face one direction at once.
With its size, weight and the large horns crowning its head, the buffalo would be able to put up a good fight against the lions. A single lion would have had a bad time facing down prey like this.
But the big cats had prepared for such an attack, and despite the buffalo’s formidable strength it could only defend against one direction at a time. While one lion distracted it from the front, another could swoop in and attack from behind.
Making The Best Of A Bad Situation
Cornered against the water, the lions had the buffalo trapped, but in its desperation to defend itself the prey actually managed to turn this to its advantage. If it couldn’t escape through the water, then the lions couldn’t attack through it either.
The dangerous predators were trying to break through the buffalo’s defenses, forcing it to turn this way and that by attacking the flanks, but as long as the buffalo kept returning to waters edge and facing them down they couldn’t actually get behind it.
Despite the lions managing to draw the buffalo out a few times, they couldn’t quite coordinate themselves enough to take advantage of this, and each time they failed to take the opportunity to attack from behind.
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A Safe Space
Eventually the buffalo had no real options other than to retreat into the water itself. It was shallow enough for it to be able to run out into what looked like the center and the lions were unwilling follow.
The big cats could only look angrily from the water’s edge as the buffalo flaunted its continued life and freedom at them. The ultimate outcome of the encounter, and how the buffalo got safely out of the water, if it did, remain unknown.
