The deadly efficiency of hungry predators has been the downfall of many an unwary prey animal. In lions especially, their ability to isolate and bring down members of herds is incredible.
Daniel Bronkhorst filmed this buffalo at the Rockfig Safari Lodge as the lions closed in around it. The big cats had numbers on their side but they might have bitten off more than they could chew as this lone buffalo put up a feisty defense.
Queuing Up For Takeaway
Lions might be able to bring a lot of strength to bear against their prey, but an adult buffalo also has a lot of strength to resist. Like most predators, lions prefer to go for easy prey that can’t put up much of a fight, but they don’t always have the choice.
When they are hunting an adult buffalo, bringing enough numbers to help is a vital tactic for the lions. This pride had brought so many lions with them that they were queuing up for a chance to sink their claws into the buffalo.
One eager lioness had latched onto the buffalo’s hindquarters and was trying to use her weight to drag her prey down to the ground. Alone she was insufficient, but the other lionesses were taking their time getting involved.
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Swings And Roundabouts
She might not have had the strength to drag her prey down to the ground, but the lioness was able to slow the buffalo down enough that it couldn’t effectively defend itself against the crowds of lions around it.
A buffalo’s horns make for potent weapons against attackers, but they work best in groups where the buffalo can form protective circles and have their horns facing everywhere at once.
A single buffalo can only defend against one direction of attack at a time, and when there are multiple attackers this is a significant weakness for them to exploit.
Just Too Stubborn To Die
Despite having one determined lioness hanging almost permanently off its hind quarters, and others snapping at its legs, this buffalo just refused to go down.
If the rest of the lions didn’t start getting themselves in gear and start helping their enthusiastic huntress then they were going to have to go hungry, because one lion alone just didn’t have the strength to bring this beast down.
Even with the other lions halfheartedly trying to use their teeth to weaken it, this buffalo was able to stand firm and turn in place, denying the big cats any kind of easy meal.
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Still Standing
All of the lions clearly wanted a taste. They were clustering around the buffalo desperately waiting for it to go down so they could eat their fill and then rest in the sun.
But this buffalo was having absolutely none of it, and although it was weakening and slowed, the pride had to be wary of its horns still, as they would be just as sharp regardless of the buffalo’s strength.
Daniel’s footage ends before the buffalo actually goes down. It seems likely that it ultimately lost the fight with the lions so determined to turn it into a meal, but it held out for a considerable amount of time and it might have continued giving the pride grief for some time more.