Soon after leaving the camp, the guests were heading towards the watering hole when they were alerted by the call of a hyena and knew from the noise that something had to be happening. Safe the other side of the watering hole, the hyena watched on as the attacking lions brought the buffalo to the ground, and it communicated to the rest of its scavenging clan that a meal would soon be ready.
Watch the sighting:
A Tempting Target
While hyenas might be scavengers, and lions successful hunters, hunting animals in herds poses its own challenges. Part of hunting is separating prey from the herd, and for this reason lions tend to target older or weaker individuals that can’t keep up with their fellows.
This buffalo was too tempting a target to resist, because being a “dagga boy” it was already separated from its herd and living a more solitary lifestyle near the watering hole. Whether the lions were actively hunting, or simply stumbled across their prey when they went for a drink, a lone buffalo is vulnerable and makes for a good meal.
Dagga Boys
While buffalos are animals whose herds can number into the hundreds, dagga boys are older buffalo males that break away from the herd to form smaller herds, or even live entirely alone. A dangerous life to live in a world with lions on the prowl, and they don’t live it by choice.
Due to their age, these male buffalo are either unable to keep up with their herd due to differing dietary needs, or they might even be forced out by younger and stronger males. Living alone, or in smaller packs for their safety, they linger near watering holes more than other animals making them even easier targets for hungry lions.
Skulking Scavengers
Despite their age, these buffalo can still put up a ferocious fight, as this old boy showed by refusing to give up even as the lions sought to disable his back legs. The hyenas can see the way the wind is blowing though, and they’re gathering ready for their turn at the carcass.
Although hyenas are scavengers, they will hunt and do occasionally have violent encounters with lions. For now though, they’re content to watch as the buffalo drags itself to the watering hole and the pride struggles to finish the job.
One Final Drink
Male African buffalo can reach up to six feet in height, and weigh in at up to nine hundred kilograms, meaning that they’re a struggle for lions to completely take down. Brian Abrahamson who saw the encounter said that the buffalo “fought for close to two hours with everything he had to escape.”
With its hind legs damaged and the lions and hyenas ready to give chase, the buffalo had no real chance of truly escaping, but it was able to make it to its final destination by crawling into the water.
