African Safari Adventure: Lion Kill Goes to the Dogs
By Kay
L. Trotman
On
one of my latest African Safaris it had just gotten dark when we
started a
night safari. We were in
It
was a brisk summer evening in December. We were out on the Plains of
the
As our
guide drove through the Plains, the spotter pointed his bright
spotlight in
front of the vehicle to see what lay ahead of us. One quick
glimpse caught
everyone’s eye as we realized before us was a huge maned
lion. We will call him
Mane. For obvious reasons, Mane was chasing a small Cape
Buffalo. As
you can guess that was to be his next meal. The small buffalo appeared
to be
alone, perhaps having wondered away from the larger
herd. Possibly because
of the darkness of the night, the larger herd could do nothing to try
to
prevent the attack on their young. As the two darted in a
circular
movement, the lion finally took his front paw and tripped the small
buffalo who
quickly fell to the ground. While trying to get up, Mane
quickly went to
grab the downed animal’s throat where he latched on tightly,
until the lifeless
body of the little buffalo calf lay still on the
ground. Sounds of the
herd of buffalo could be heard in the distance, as if to cry over death
of the
small calf.
When
Mane was sure there was no life left, he let go of the small buffalo
and slowly
got up and moved aside. He went and lay in the bushes trying to regain
his
breath. He panted and panted trying desperately to catch his
breath. There
were hyenas in the area so he cowered in the opposite direction from
the hyenas. Mane
knew if he did not begin eating or dragging the carcass away, he would
be
vulnerable to having it taken away by hyena. If not by them, then by
wild dogs
which were known to be in the area. But Mane just could not
seem to catch
his breath. After all, hunting was a job for the
Lioness’. It was rare to
see a huge male lion on this kind of a hunt. But, as is often
the case, if
a vulnerable animal presents itself as prey to these predators, they
will take
advantage of the situation, just as was done in this case.
Our
spotter kept the light on both Mane and the buffalo, alternating it
between the
two animals. We now could see part of the herd behind some
large bushes,
but dared not approach them with the lion as close as he
was. As Mane began
to slowly catch his breath, a sound, familiar to our safari group by
now, was
heard. It was a hyena. Though we could not
immediately see it, we had
come to know the sound. It grew louder and we were afraid if
Mane did not
get up, he might lose his precious prey. After all, it would
be a shame
if Mane, who exerted all of his energy to catch his prey, would have it
taken
over by a pack of hyenas.
It
was too late. Suddenly, two hyenas approached the
“kill” and danced around
the carcass as if to taunt Mane, but Mane was too weak to defend his
kill. Then out of the darkness another hyena appeared. Between
the three
of them, they began to drag the carcass into the bushes. One patrolled
the area.
The other two hyenas were keeping a sharp lookout for more lions and
also watching
Mane. However, one lion is no match against four
hyenas. Hyenas can
crush bone with their razor like teeth. Mane had no choice but to
retreat and
watch his hard earned dinner disappear. Talk about survival of
the
fittest, this was the test. Usually the lion is the fittest, but this
was the
exception and we had witnessed it firsthand. All of us on safari felt
really
sorry for Mane as he cowered off into the wilderness. This is not the
usual way
one would think a lion hunt would end.
Within minutes, we could hear bones crushing, teeth gnawing and the laughing of the pack of hyenas. Nearby were a flock of vultures eerily waiting to savor the leftovers that the hyenas were sure to leave. In this sad case Mane actually contributed to meals for a pack of hyena and also to a wake (plural for a group of vultures) of vultures. Poor Mane went without food for this particular kill.
I guess we should have felt sorry for the little buffalo that lost his life, but the situation seemed to be in favor of the lion after expending so much energy going after his meal then losing it to a bunch of hyenas that did nothing to gain a free meal. Such are the normal activities one might find on African safaris. Many more adventures will be experienced. If you’ve never experienced the thrill of an African safari and ever get a chance to go on one don’t pass up that chance. One safari can be that “can’t miss” opportunity of a lifetime.
Copyright © 2007 Kay L. Trotman