This lioness is lucky to find 2 baby impalas. The second lamb tries to fight the lioness. Can the poor impala escape her grasp? This heartbreaking sighting played out on the H4-1, near Skukuza, in the Kruger National Park.
44-Year-old safari guide David Pusey from Leo Vantage Private Guided Safaris was fortunate to witness this sighting and shared the story with LatestSightings.com:
“During impala lambing season many predators take advantage of the abundance of impala babies as a food source. In their first few days after being born, lambs rely predominantly on hiding, since they are not fast enough to evade predators, yet.”
“This lioness, near the H12 bridge in the Kruger National Park, couldn’t believe her luck when she stumbled across 2 lambs that hadn’t hidden away well enough. They became easy targets when they moved toward her. The second lamb put up a brave fight, and even managed a few well-placed kicks to the lioness’ face.”
“We could see that the lioness was hunting. We believe she was denning at the time, which we suspect made her more active during the day since she had cubs to feed. We followed her for a while, and then she spotted the impala lambs. We knew there was a good chance she might catch one because they were only a few days old.”
“It’s always difficult and emotional to watch young animals being caught… However, the lioness also has to survive and look after her offspring. Once she had caught both lambs, she stashed them under a bush to feed in peace.”
“It was an extremely rare sighting. This is the first time I have seen a lioness catch 2 lambs at the same time. I have seen them catching many single lambs before, but usually, the other lambs have enough time to escape.”
“If you are in Kruger during impala lambing season, be prepared for scenes like these. Predators take advantage of the easy food source.”
An emotional video captures the tenacious battle of a wildebeest with not one but two adult lionesses despite having been put in a disadvantageous situation before.
The video was filmed in the Okavango Delta, Botswana (South Africa), opening with the scene of an antelope of the wildebeest family being knocked down by a lion, only able to lie on the ground waiting to die.
However, to the surprise of tourists, the antelope thought that death was certain, suddenly strongly protested and used its curved horns as a weapon to make the lion run away.
As strong as it was, the antelope could not escape because its legs were badly damaged after the struggle. With wobbly steps, it tried to crawl away, but then collapsed again.
Knowing that their prey can’t do miracles, the lions wait patiently, then rush back with the intention of delivering the finishing blow.
However, the wildebeest still showed its strong will to survive, repelling all attacks. It was determined not to fall under the lion’s clutches.
Sandro Geyser, a tourist who witnessed the scene and also filmed the video, exclaimed in amazement: “The antelope doesn’t really care that it can’t move. It just doesn’t want to. It is a strong will to survive, and it is determined not to give up even if it has to fight with many enemies.”
This person also admitted that this was one of the saddest scenes he had ever witnessed in his life. Apparently the antelope would not survive. If the lions can’t get the job done, the hyenas, wild dogs, jaguars… and countless other predators on this savannah will gladly take their place.
But it is admirable when we witness the fighting spirit of “never give up” of one of the gentlest animals on the planet.
When they returned the next morning, Geyser and his friends did not find any remains.
Most likely the antelope was eaten by the lions. However, it is not excluded that it has successfully escaped to another area.
The wildebeest (scientific name: Hippotragus equinus) is a species of mammal in the family Bovidae, in the order Artiodactyla, found mainly in Africa.
The wildebeest is one of the largest antelope species. They are approximately 1.9-2.4 meters long from head to tail. The body weight of the male can be up to 300 kg, which is heavier than a male lion.
Their appearance is quite characteristic, with short, erect manes, and textured faces as if they are wearing a mask. Their horns curve slightly backwards and are extremely strong. Males can have horns up to 1m long.
Possessing a flexible neck and long horns, they can look back to make the enemy falter, without having to lose too much mobility like most antelope and buffalo species.
It is also for this reason that the wildebeest can be assessed as the antelope species with the highest ability to survive when confronting ferocious predators.
However, the narrowing of the habitat has caused the number of wildebeest in protected areas in South Africa to continuously decrease, with the current population being less than a few hundred.
Researchers and conservationists believe that more hunting and isolation by lions has led to a decline in the number of adult wildebeest. Some studies add another reason, that the animals are susceptible to diseases like anthrax.