What at first appeared to be another zebra having a dust bath, turned out to be a life-and-death battle. Dayne Pattison captured the following photo sequence while on a game drive in the Kruger National Park.
All is not as it seems
According to Dayne, he was on a game drive near to Satara Camp. The area is renowned for its nutritious grasslands that attract numerous herbivores, such as wildebeest and zebras.
For this reason, he didn’t think much of it when he saw a zebra watching what appeared to be another zebra in a cloud of dust.
What readers possibly don’t realise is that the Satara grasslands are also ideal habitat for predators, especially lions.
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Only when I drove closer…
As he went on to comment, it was only when he drove a bit closer that he realised that what he had assumed to be an innocuous dust bath was far more serious.

A collared lioness had ambushed a zebra. As they came into view, he saw the zebra standing over the lion. However, the lion had its jaws clamped over the zebras’ muzzle.
Lions sometimes subdue their prey by clamping the jugular and limiting blood flow to the brain.
However, in this case, she was attempting to limit oxygen intake by sealing the mouth and nostrils.
So, what’s the problem?
Only when seen from a different perspective do we realise why the lion is struggling to bring the zebra down?
Accordingly, take a close look at the image below:

If you look carefully, you can see that the lioness has failed to cover the mouth of the zebra…

Consequently, although the zebra can’t escape, it can breathe. And while it can breathe, it can continue to fight.
Other factors at play
The other thing that could weaken the zebra would be blood loss. However, looking at the remaining images we see that not much blood is visible.

In the image above, a few splashes of blood can be seen on the zebras’ side. Presumably, the zebra has a nasty wound where it was bitten on the muzzle. But, aside from these, although in some pain, it is essentially unharmed.
In addition, the zebra is standing on all fours. This means it has better leverage than the lion lying on its back.

So what happened?
Unfortunately, the only information we have regarding the outcome of this tussle is that the zebra escaped. For this reason, we can only guess how it managed to do so.
Considering the zebra’s superior position, it may have been able to trample or kick the lioness, forcing it to let go.
Alternatively, as the lion struggled to subdue its prey, it might have tried to get a better grip and accidentally released the zebra.
The victor and the vanquished
Regardless, the final photo shows the lioness looking somewhat defeated in the foreground. Meanwhile, the zebra raises its head in victory in the background.

Is this outcome rare?
Individual lions are well capable of bringing down adult zebras. But, as this encounter illustrates, it depends on various factors working together successfully.
Had the lion properly covered the nostrils and mouth of the zebra, it would probably have prevailed.
Of course, lions often hunt cooperatively with other lions and its chances would have improved if it had assistance.
Even so, lions are successful in one in six attempts when hunting alone, compared to one in three when hunting as a group.
They are most successful when hunting at night, especially when the moon is absent or obscured.
Once again, Nature is full of surprises, reminding us to take nothing for granted… even a dust cloud.