Watch the Sighting:
Louis Strauss is the general manager at Jock Safari Lodge in Kruger National Park. He captured this brutal sighting while out on a game drive early one morning at the Jock Concession near the H3/S113.
Buffalo in Distress
As Louis was driving, he heard some commotion in the distance that sounded like a herd of buffalo. He quickly pulled over and climbed up onto a nearby rock to scout the scene ahead, and sure enough, about two kilometres ahead, a herd was running away from an unseen threat.
With his knowledge of the area, and the distress calls of the buffalo, Louis assumed that a pride of lions must have been chasing the herd. Next, he spotted some of the bulls turning around to face the threat and knew that he had to act quickly if he wanted a better visual of the chase.
A Lone Huntress
When he finally arrived at the scene, Louis spotted a lone lioness in the reeds with a few nearby buffalo watching her closely. Recognizing the pride, he knew the other females were off with their cubs, so this particular female had been hunting individually.
As he approached, he couldn’t believe his eyes! This female lion had taken down one of the buffalo all on her own!
The other buffalo finally moved out of the way and she attacked the injured buffalo once again. It was a brutal sight to behold as she began her feast while the buffalo was still calling out in distress.
Eventually, one of the other buffalo cautiously ventured back to its injured friend’s defence but a few growls from the lioness sent it on its way again. She resumed her feast while the buffalo continued to try and drag itself away.
Calling in the Action
Having worked in the Kruger for over twelve years, Louis recognized this as an extremely rare sighting. He quickly pulled out his radio to report the sighting.
“I immediately called the sighting in on the radio so the other rangers could bring their guests to see the action. The rangers know that when I say “Shova”, it means “get a move on” and that the sighting is good, so they all responded extremely quickly!”
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A Feast for Many
After several painful minutes, the buffalo began to lose steam, but its calls of distress had already drawn the attention of a dominant male lion. The female abandoned her meal when the dominant male drew near, and he claimed the feast for the rest of the day.
Later in the evening three other lionesses came to feed on the buffalo, followed by more dominant males the next day. Finally, a group of hyenas came and finished the carcass off to the bone.
This sighting reminds us that although lions may be the kings and queens of the jungle, even they must bow to the hierarchy of the wild. Strength alone isn’t enough when scavengers and rivals are always waiting for their chance to steal a bite of a meal.