This is the hilarious moment a grazing buffalo walks right into a lion and both get the fright of their life! This hilarious interaction was filmed on the H1-4, close to Satara in Kruger National Park.
Lions are one of the most strategic predators in Africa, they can be opportunistic hunters and will often ambush their prey. Buffaloes on the other hand have been known to severely injure and even kill these carnivores, by tossing them through the air or puncturing them with their horns. Clearly, neither of these two creatures had their strategy planned on this day and when they found themselves face to face, got the fright of their lives!
48-Year-old investment specialist Faizal Shariff Noor witnessed this sighting with his cousin and nephew. Faizal shared the story with LatestSightings.com:
“We were driving back towards Satara for lunch when my cousin spotted lions in the distance and shouted to stop. The buffalo herd was sitting together and we saw the first two lions charge toward them, leaving them unsettled. We then noticed another lion approaching from the opposite side and were expecting an ambush.”
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“Once the buffalo walked straight up to the lion, the chase kicked off and all we saw was dust with giraffe and the buffalos scattering. The lions returned unsuccessfully and the sighting ended with heaps of dust, and confused giraffes running away with the buffaloes – and dissatisfied hungry lions.”
“I’ve seen a few chases before but this was very rare – as it was so clear and open to observe.”
“We were all super excited and thought this was going to be our first kill. It was such an amazing sight! We were witnessing – not just a hunt – but what seemed like a perfectly planned strategy. We got anxious and thought the buffalo is walking straight into the jaws of death and then…well what a surprise!”
Dramatic video recorded in northwestern Tanzania (East Africa) shows a fierce confrontation between a mother and daughter buffalo and a herd of lions in an effort to fight for life.
The video opens with a scene of lions besieging, then suddenly attacking a herd of wild buffalo grazing in an open field.
While most members of the herd escaped, one juvenile calf was left behind with its mother.
Immediately, they became the target of the lion’s hunt. Understanding her situation, the mother buffalo bravely rushed to repel the hungry predators.
However, when overwhelmed by the crowd, the mother buffalo appeared confused, and was approached by the lions from many directions.
While it was caught off guard, a lioness grabbed her calves by the neck and dragged her down the slope, away from the mother buffalo.
It seemed that the young wild buffalo would lose its life before the bloodthirsty hunters, but thanks to the determination of the mother buffalo and the timely rescue of her fellows, it created a spectacular escape.
In Africa, buffalo and lion are two closely related species, with buffalo being the main prey of lions, and lions being the biggest natural enemies of buffalo.
Usually, it takes many lions to work together to knock down an adult buffalo, so lions often aim for easy targets such as immature calves, or old buffaloes or injured buffaloes. .
However, the herd behavior of both buffalo and lion is often the cause of dramatic battles when lions do not let go of their prey, and buffaloes do not run away easily.
In which, although wild buffalo are herbivores, they are considered a danger because of their unpredictable nature. At times, reports say the wild buffalo is responsible for more deaths than any other animal in Africa.
Buffalo is one of the few creatures in Africa that can cause trouble for lions. Their large horns and massive body mass make them formidable opponents. Lions have to take risks when they want to win hundreds of kilograms of buffalo meat.
“Dark Mane Avoca, one of the lions’ males, didn’t know where to go and was filled with fear. Finally, it ran to the nearby bushes for shelter, but hostility kept the buffalo herd from giving up. The lion was flung into the air like a cloth doll, hit by its horns and trampled on by a series of hooves,” Kelbrick said.
The incident continued for about 15 minutes. Then, the cry of Dark Mane Avoca caught the attention of the lions and turned to chase away the buffalo.
After the incident, the tour group left with mixed emotions, Kelbrick shared. When they returned at the end of the day, they found Dark Mane Avoca still with the Nkuhuma herd but severely injured. “Despite our grief, we should always remember that this is a wild place, nature is sometimes cruel and survival will always be a battle. The male lion has survived the past four years with a limp. and will fight to the last breath,” Kelbrick said.