The incredible video was taken on the S130 near Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Watch The Sighting:
The sudden twist startled both the lions gathered around the carcass and the onlookers watching the scene unfold.
Lion Scavenges On Hippo Carcass
Lions can feed on hippo meat, but it’s not common and usually happens under specific circumstances. Hippos are large and dangerous animals, so lions typically avoid hunting them unless the hippo is young, injured, or isolated.
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In rare cases, large prides of lions have been observed successfully taking down adult hippos, especially near water sources where ambush is more feasible. However, more often, lions are likely to scavenge a dead hippo rather than actively hunt one.
In this case, a lioness was busy feeding on a dead hippo when something unexpected occurred.
The Unexpected Disturbs The Lioness From Her Feed
The lioness was feeding on the hippo’s carcass quite peacefully when the unexpected happened.
The rest of the pride watched on as the scene unfolded.
Hippos are large, muscular animals with huge digestive systems. Their intestines are packed tightly inside the abdominal cavity, creating significant internal pressure.
When the abdominal wall is breached, whether by claws, teeth, or after death, the sudden release of this pressure can cause the intestines and bowels to spill out.
Bowels Spill Out As Lioness Feeds
This is exactly what happened when the lioness began to tear hungrily at the hippo’s flesh. The bowels suddenly gushed out!
Once the hippo dies, its smooth muscles and sphincters relax, including those that normally help keep the intestines in place. With no muscular tone holding them, and the pressure now unopposed, the bowels can slide or be pushed outward, especially if the belly has been torn open.
The lioness jumped up, startled. At first, she remained poised on the dead animal, looking bewildered.
The other lions on the bank, mostly lionesses and cubs, also stood to attention. They shared in her horror and picked up on her distress at the sudden gush of excrement from the hippo’s body.
She leaned in cautiously, inspecting the wound that had caused the eruption. For spectators, this was clearly an unanticipated turn of events.
Lioness Jumps Away From Hippo’s Body
The lioness eventually leapt from the hippo’s upside-down carcass and ran off into the distance. This was possibly a lesson to hunt for meat in the future and not to feed off of dead carcasses.
The carcass remained in the water with the lions watching on.
The hippopotamus is one of the largest land mammals, with adult males weighing up to 3,000 to 4,000 kg. The carcass would have provided a large meal for the lioness and possibly other lions; however, after witnessing the spectacle, they were possibly a little hesitant to return to the animal’s body for a feed, however hungry they might have been.
