The pride in question was the famous S100 mega pride of lions, including the famous white lion.
Watch The Sighting:
Beryl and her husband were camping at the Satara camp when they were told by a fellow tourist about a pride of 12 lions, consisting of an endangered white lion. This pride lives on the S100, a road famously known for frequent lion sightings.
Couple Heads Out In Search of Lions
The day had barely started when Beryl and her husband hit the road. They were determined to find the elusive white lion!
It was still early, 7:30 am, when she saw a few lions walking in the bushveld alongside the road. The lions crossed the road in front of them and they realised that they had found their white lion!
Lions Set Sights On Porcupine
It seemed that the lions were chasing after a porcupine. Only this didn’t pan out as a conventional chase. While the porcupine was going as fast as his little legs could carry him, he wasn’t exactly a sprinter. However, he did have his spines and quills in his favor.
Porcupines can weigh up to 27kg and have bodies covered with thick quills. These are incredibly sharp! The quills can grow up to 30cm long, and the spines, up to 50 cm long!
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The majestic lions had speed and muscular power in their favour, however, they weren’t taking chances with the porcupine’s spiny body.
Each time they got close to him, he strategically pivoted with his back facing them, so that they were confronted by a wall of spiny quills.
Porcupine Uses Strategic Moves To Outsmart Lions
The lions and porcupine moved onto the road, and the porcupine danced around the predators, turning here and there with each confrontation, so that his spines and quills always stood as a barrier between himself and his pursuers.
He made many smart moves and eventually went under a car, buffered now by both his spiny facade and the car’s covering.
The lions looked under the car in turn. They really were as big cats, sticking their paws beneath the car and trying to get the porcupine to surrender his cover.
The white lion was now in full view of the motorists. She was too enamoured by the porcupine to even notice there were so many watching her.
”This porcupine was determined to fight for his life,” says Beryl. “The poor porcupine took cover under the vehicle in front of us, and we were able to video this amazing interaction between it and the pride of lions.”
Beryl noticed a lion had a quill stuck in her mouth, however, she managed to remove it without much damage.
Porcupine Makes A Getaway
“We felt desperately sorry for this little animal,” she said. However, it appeared the lions were just inquisitive and meant him no harm.
She said that eventually the lions lost interest and wandered off towards the river, leaving the porcupine under the vehicle. Then, the car drove off, and once the coast was clear, the porcupine disappeared.