Most ambushes tend to have a flair of the dramatic about them. A hungry predator bursting out of cover to surprise its prey and bring it down before it can react gets a lot of attention.
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It’s all very exciting stuff, but this lion took it a step further by pulling off a solo ambush, down a sheer cliff into a river while the rest of the herd went into chaos about it.
Matt Yardley from Wild Eye caught this incredible takedown on camera, and sent it in to Latest Sightings. It took place in the Masai Mara Reserve, and it’s not one to miss.
All The Way To The Top
The first animal to appear in Matt’s footage wasn’t a wildebeest, or a lion. Instead it was a zebra that had somehow involved itself in the whole affair as it climbed up the steeps sides of the river bank the wildebeest were crossing.
Unbeknownst to the zebra, and the herd of wildebeest in close pursuit, a large male lion crouched in the tall grass closely watching their undignified clamber up the side of the riverbank.
Almost completely invisible, the lion was waiting for its potential prey to make it all the way to the top of the embankment before it leapt. The zebra was not its intended target and had the opportunity to escape, before the wildebeest followed it up from behind.
That One Right There Will Do
Two wildebeest followed the zebra, breaking around a sheer outcropping that was impassable. The wildebeest were migrating in great numbers and the ones at the front needed to keep moving to clear the way for those coming behind.
But only one of these wildebeest were going to make it, as the lion suddenly burst out of its camouflaged ambush staging area to attack. One wildebeest veered, panicked, to the side but the lion soared past, with its eyes fixed on the other.
The path that the wildebeest had chosen to lead them out of the riverbed could only just be considered such. It was the only passable terrain with sheer walls of dirt on either side, so the wildebeest had no option but to turn and try and fall back on the rest of the herd to escape the big cat.
Instant Traffic Jam
The wildebeest didn’t all have room to turn to get out of the way due to the narrow path. Because of this the lead individual, in its panic to escape the lion, was forced to headbutt the other herd members out of the way to try and force itself past.
The result was a large tangle of wildebeest rolling back down the sharp incline they’d just been trying to climb, each of them trying to escape each other, and the big hungry predator that was determinedly following them down.
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Eyes On The Prize
Through the maelstrom of thrashing wildebeest limbs, the lion never once wavered from its target. The lead animal that it had picked out as its next meal remained its prey as it dove back into its herd members.
Into the water the lion chased the wildebeest, eventually catching it in its sharp claws and holding it in the shallows, where it was only a matter of time before the wildebeest fell, and the lion had a hearty meal.