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Published: 2020-03-04 02:34:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 440; Favourites: 17; Downloads: 0
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The lion prevailed. I wasn't too worried about the dogs, because they have an extraordinary success rate when hunting.
And the next morning, we returned to this spot, and our lion was still there, unharmed.
South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
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Comments: 11
Hahaha! I love these action shots!
"Nope! Run away! We don't want buffalo for dinner after all!"
There may be strength in numbers, but even these Wild Dogs weren't going to mess with this lion
after he brought down the buffalo. It's nice to know that he still had his prize the following day and
he was unharmed. Between Wild Dogs and Hyenas, something will eventually come along that will
bully him away from his dinner.
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I think that the lion was in command.
If, let's say, 20 hyenas would have ganged up on him, he would have been in trouble, but a bunch of wild dogs couldn't seriously harm him.
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Fair point! Even with the pack mentality and knowing they have strength in numbers, the Wild Dogs
would have to realise how many losses their pack would suffer if they tried to take on this lion. How
badly do they want that buffalo?
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I don't know, they tried at least 3 times to dislodge the lion from his buffalo, and every time the lion chased them away. Finally they gave up with their tails between their legs. It was quite a spectacle. We just watched it in awe, outside the car, while having a drink. I'm sure the lion noticed us, and if he wanted to, he could have made an attempt on us, but he showed no interest...
Anyway, I might have said this before, but I wasn't too worried about the wild dogs, because of all the predators in Africa, they have an exceptional success rate when hunting. They just run their victims down to exhaustion. 3 years earlier we witnessed a group of wild dogs successfully hunting an impala in Botswana. And this poor animal literally disappeared within a couple of minutes. This is not something I need to see again ...
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Heh, the lion undoubtedly knew you were just spectators and you weren't going to try and
muscle in on his meal, unlike the insolence of the dogs that needed to be chased away so
many times. The slow two-legged critters aren't a worry because they're wisely keeping back.
I always find it fascinating how the large packs of Wild Dogs and even wolfs use their insane
stamina levels to chase down their prey. The patience of the chase is always a fascinating
spectacle when its captured in documentaries, but like you, I would never want to witness
how quickly the prey animal can disappear once they go in for the kill. It's nice to know they're
successful hunters... witnessing it in full gore detail? No thanks! I feel sorry for you on this
point - what has been seen cannot be unseen!
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My only comforting thought in this context is that the predators' numbers, whether they are big cats or wild dogs, are much lower than their prey animals. And wild dogs in particular are critically endangered. So I root for them, which does not prevent me from feeling sorry for the individual victim.
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Yes, there is a comfort to be found in that fact: there is plenty of food to go around for the
predators. Sure, they'll have bad days and failed hunts - poor cheetahs don't have a high
success rate with their hunts - but there is always another meal they can chase down. They
only need to worry about the rains arriving on time and bringing the herds back before they
starve.
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Thinking about this, the one thing that distinguishes humans from animal predators that the latter do not kill to enrich themselves, they kill to survive.
As far as I know the issue of inequality among animals is non-existant.
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Yes, this is very true. The predators in the animal kingdom only kill to survive, whether it is
hunting for food or killing to protect their own against an aggressor. They don't kill for the
joy of it or for pleasure.
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I hope they and their prey will still be around once this global crisis will be over ...
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I do as well! We'll just have to see how everything looks once the dust settles.
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