Juan Malan, the safari and trails guide at Lapalala Wilderness in South Africa, had taken the lodge owners out for a drive when they came across the lioness. Malan said she “was carefully looking out over the open grasslands, with the hope of finding a potential meal, even though there weren’t any animals in sight at that time.”
It wasn’t until they returned using the same route that they saw the extraordinary encounter between the lioness and her prey. She’d already singled out a wounded individual from the herd, and with the burst of speed inherent in ambush predators she attacked.
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Good Old Fashioned Standoff
This wildebeest had fallen behind the rest of its herd with an injury to one of its back legs, so flight definitely wasn’t an option for it, and for one long moment it even seemed like it was going to try and fight the lion.
The lioness seemed almost surprised by the boldness of the wildebeest and didn’t attack immediately, with the two of them settling into a stand off that lasted for several moments. It quickly became clear that the wildebeest had no intention of going anywhere.
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Patience Is A Virtue
With the wildebeest standing its ground, the lioness clearly thought it was going to have a long wait for an opening to attack, and settled in to see how long it would take.
The wait wasn’t going to be as long as the lioness expected though, when the wildebeest lowered its head and front legs as if it was gearing itself up for a charge.
A Sudden End
It became clear the wildebeest might actually be in trouble though, when instead of getting back up, it just sort of… stayed down.
Perhaps it was exhaustion from trying to keep up with the rest of the herd with a bad leg, or maybe the injury was causing it pain, either way it wasn’t lowering itself for an attack, but rather its front legs had just gone out from underneath it.
It managed a few threatening hops towards the lioness, but then its back legs went as well, and it was clear that it wasn’t going to be any threat towards the lioness which took full advantage of the opportunity.
It hopped threateningly towards the lioness, but then its haunches went down as well and the lion knows it’s got dinner secured. It easily circled around behind the wildebeest and attacked.
Playing Dead
The suddenness of the wildebeest’s collapse made it seemed almost like the wildebeest was trying to play dead. Unfortunately for it, even if it had been, playing dead isn’t a tactic that would work on lions as they would just drag you away as an easy meal.
At most the wildebeest managed to confuse the lion slightly before the predator hastily took advantage of the situation. Playing dead only really works on animals that are attacking as a threat response anyway, not against those which are hunting for food.
A Valuable Meal
This wildebeest should feed this lionesses pride for several days, providing valuable meat for her pride.
Despite this lioness’s successful hunt, lion populations are decreasing, making habitat protection increasingly important, and a sight like this all the more amazing.