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Home action Watch How Wildebeest Walks Right Into Lions

Watch How Wildebeest Walks Right Into Lions

Wildebeests couldn’t see 4 lionesses lying on the road right in front, so they kept walking towards them. Turns out that it wasn’t all the lions, and danger was even closer!

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Where it Happened

andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve is a special place! It’s known for being unique in many ways, but even Luke Hartley, an experienced ranger at the reserve, was taken by surprise by this perfect lion ambush.

How it Began

Luke, was out on safari and managed to track 5 lionesses. Seeing lions is exciting, every time, but better yet, they had them walking right on the sand road.  At this point no one (not even the lions) could have predicted what was up the road, heading their way.

There was Something More

After rounding a slight bend in the road, the lions’ behavior changed. All of them became much more tense and focused. They were onto something, and it was close! Four of the lionesses crouched into a pouncing position, while one of them broke off the road and into the bush.

The anticipation on the safari vehicle was through the roof. What was heading their way? And then they came… 4 wildebeests, walking blissfully right toward the calculating lionesses. The lions were only a few meters away, but their fur blended so well with the sand road that the wildebeests had no idea.

Walking Into Lions

The poor wildebeests were walking right into a trap, but even at this point, it wasn’t as clear-cut as most would think. The plan wasn’t to let dinner stroll right into them, no, there was more to it, and danger was closer to the wildebeests than the camera could tell.

The wildebeests were getting nail-bitingly close, but before they could take another step, something came charging at them from the bushes! It was the lioness who had broken away from her sisters. She had circled through the bush to flank the wildebeests.

The Chase

The wildebeests scattered in panic, and the lioness went for the one in front, fleeing toward the bushes on the opposite side. This wasn’t ideal, as the plan was to drive the targets into her sister. So, the lioness had to work extra hard to redirect the wildebeest back to the road, and that’s exactly what she did!

How it Ended

As soon as it ran back toward the road, the unfortunate wildebeest lost all its chances and was quickly brought down. For the lionesses, it was a lucky opportunity, and they made it count!

Bonus

andBeyond has safari properties all over Africa, and they’re all as cool as Phinda! They share virtual safaris every Wednesday, and you can see amazing sightings from some of their other properties too, on YouTube.



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