While being devoured alive, a lion tries to be pulled off a buffalo by its tail by a courageous hyena.
Mike Kirkman, a field guide at MalaMala Game Reserve, amusedly reported seeing a lion get bit by a hyena to LatestSightings.com.
“A buffalo bellowed while my guests and I were enjoying our morning coffee. As we approached the front of the deck, we noticed hyenas racing in the direction of the sound. My guests and I sped off to the car at that moment.
These ravenous hyenas attempt to grab the male lion by the tail from a buffalo kill.
On a safari, one typically relies on their vision. However, don’t be scared to let your other senses experience nature. Perhaps you’ll hear an animal in distress, which could take you to a pride of lions who are out hunting, or you might smell a dead animal and be able to see scavenging hyenas devouring. Mike arrived at this amazing time thanks to his hearing ability.
We could see a young lion riding a buffalo about halfway to the scene, and we could see a group of hyenas sprinting toward the lion and buffalo as they passed us. We arrived at the scene after driving the final 20 meters and seen the lion begin to consume the buffalo while still alive. The buffalo’s unrestrained distress sounds, however, drew more hyenas.
“When the buffalo eventually perished, the hyenas became more ecstatic. They got brave enough to challenge the lion, nipping at its heels and biting its tail when they had built themselves up to that point. He didn’t have the self-assurance of an older man because he was a young man. He eventually left due to the hyenas’ persistent mobbing, harassing, and loudness.
Hyenas and lions are well-known adversaries and rivals. Hyenas have little chance and are almost certain to run away or perish when faced with lions one-on-one. However, lions become extremely wary of conflict and will opt to flee and avoid it when hyenas outnumber them 4 to 1.
“The sighting made an enormous roar that was both thrilling and nerve-wracking. In my 20 years of guiding, I’ve experienced a number of thrilling and one-of-a-kind interactions. However, this one really jumps out to me because of the amount of noise it produces. I was fortunate to see this exchange take place in the open and during the day. Perfectly, we could see what was happening. The majority of the time, interactions between lions and hyenas take place in the dark, with no one to observe.
“The sighting made an enormous roar that was both thrilling and nerve-wracking. In my 20 years of guiding, I’ve experienced a number of thrilling and one-of-a-kind interactions. However, this one really jumps out to me because of the amount of noise it produces. I was fortunate to see this exchange take place in the open and during the day. Perfectly, we could see what was happening. Interactions between lions and hyenas frequently take place in the dark, with no witnesses.
On your next safari, keep your eyes, ears, and possibly nose open as you never know where your senses might take you.
In the video, it seems that the lions including 3 lionesses and their cubs have defeated a wild buffalo and are enjoying the “party”.
However, the presence of a pack of hyenas with nearly 20 members made the atmosphere tense. They surround, close to lions, and constantly emit threatening calls to snatch their prey. However, the lions refused to give up.
At the climax, a lioness suddenly lunges at her opponent. With its strength and speed, it quickly knocked over a hyena, and at the same time grabbed it by the neck, causing the animal to suffer serious injuries. Witnessing the incident, other hyenas quickly surrounded and put the lion in danger.
However, the other two lionesses in the herd quickly rushed to the reinforcements. In the following segments, the hyenas and lions are constantly eating tit-for-tat, with no one giving up.
When the battle seemed to have no end, suddenly out of nowhere appeared a male lion leisurely rushing forward. The male lion’s undeniable dominance immediately brought about a change, as the entire grassland fell silent.
Gradually, one by one, the hyenas ran away and only dared to watch their prey from afar. Meanwhile, the lionesses do not dare to come close to compete for prey with the leader. At that time, the male lion quietly enjoyed his party.
Lions attack hyenas to protect their prey. The other hyenas also quickly gathered to help their fellows.
Lions are sexually dimorphic, with males being larger than females and also having absolute power. On average, they weigh between 150 and 250 kg, and females only from 120 to 182 kg.
Male lions can be easily recognized from a distance by their mane. This is also the most recognizable feature of the species. In particular, the length of the mane, the color of the mane all reflect the success in conflicting relationships between males as well as their strength.
The main purpose of the mane is said to be to protect the neck and throat during territorial battles with opponents. This is also the typical lifestyle of male lions, whether they belong to a pack or not.
They are great warriors, as the mane is an evolution to suit skirmishes, resisting bites and scratches that can be very dangerous to life. However, due to their large mane and difficulty in hiding, male lions are often ineffective in hunting.