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Lion Predation
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  (02-28-2020, 04:26 AM)Spalea Wrote: @Shadow : I had seen that lower quality clip before, I chose to use that documentary because of better quality. But that lower quality clip shows a bit more. When I watched that compilation, I would have used this zebra hunt as nro 1. Reason is that zebra hunt had it all, big risk, speed, courage even in insane way, big leap/jump in full speed and then able to move perfectly while rolling and being right away going to bite the throat of that zebra. Of course caracals for instance make beautiful leaps, but there is no risk when they hunt a mouse or a bird, same with that great white shark clip, it was just a normal hunt, nice jump but that´s it. Or a croc with antelope... they just grab that antelope or not :) But when a lion goes for a zebra in that way, running as fast as it can, making that crazy jump on the back of it and keeping hold while rolling there and being right away (already before rolling stops) biting the throat, absolutely amazing, imo!!! That another hunt in which a lion grabbed that impala in the middle of the jump was also very impressive. This zebra hunt goes for me to same category as that one snow leopard hunt in which snow leopard fall from cliff with prey animal and roll/slide then downhill. There are hunts and then there are insane hunts. Lions tend to show quite often some spectacular ones, one reason is for sure, that they are easy to film, but that takes nothing from that zebra hunt :) I would love to see what happens longer, all these zebra hunt clips stop too soon. (02-28-2020, 07:27 PM)Shadow Wrote:Yes agree with you. We have to be aware that an adult zebra in average weighs 300- 350 kilos, thus twice as much the lioness's weight. On this clip, the lions are the only ones hunting a bigger prey than themselves and with the other hunting - Lion and giraffe - hunter and hunted aren't rolling the former over the latter (giraffe too big !). In this hunting the lioness during its roll manages to use the zebra's speed and strength to overpower it. Something like martial art, I mean...(02-28-2020, 04:26 AM)Spalea Wrote: @Shadow : Of course the hunt by the snow leopard is the most remarkable through the fall that the hunter consents to make in order to master its prey. 
Just a side note, Zebras are extremely alert animals, much harder to hunt than Wildebeest for example. This may be why the Lioness wanted to go for the throat right away.
Another reason could be that Zebra are ver adept at kicking and it's much more dangerous to try and bring them down from behind. (02-28-2020, 08:57 PM)Pckts Wrote: Just a side note, Zebras are extremely alert animals, much harder to hunt than Wildebeest for example. This may be why the Lioness wanted to go for the throat right away. Yes zebras are very robust, huge, animals. And able to react very violently against a predator by kicking, from the front and the back, or even biting.
This compilation had two clips, which I liked. First is lioness with zebra from 1:03 forward, quite a hunt. Second is male lion with cape buffalo bull from 5:59 forward. Some people say, that predators don´t take risks because scaring the injury... yeah, right
 Well maybe in some fights it can be so, but not what comes to hunting.
@Shadow :
About #829: Your video show how much lions are opportunist predators, how they know to profit from the ground and place - the lioness using the cars to catch a wildbeest, sometime to catch very small preys (lioness and bird) etc. But sometimes too they choose the difficulty, the risky hunt, lioness and the big zebra, whereas the felid could chase the baby one, and the male lion with the buffalo. (02-29-2020, 11:36 PM)Spalea Wrote: @Shadow : I wouldn´t use the word opportunist even though I understand, that it´s not totally negative word. But in Finnish language it isn´t the word which I would use when complimenting someone. It´s taken here as a word to describe someone selfish, who doesn´t care about others (well, time to time especially male lions can be "a bit" possessive with food ).I would use words like, ingenious hunter, or skillful/skilled... maybe talented. After all lions show often astonishing skills in hunting and show how to do it. Then again they often hunt to feed not only for themselves, but coalition partners, pride members and cubs. That´s why opportunist sounds a bit odd to my ear. But I got your point and that you didn´t mean it in negative way. (02-29-2020, 11:51 PM)Shadow Wrote:Yes, sorry but opportunistic meaned indeed how excellently they profit from circumstances in order to catch a prey. The lioness using the cars to approach the herd of wildebeest for exemple. Yes I know this word can sometimes imply a selfish behaviour even in french language, but not at all in this case of lions hunting.(02-29-2020, 11:36 PM)Spalea Wrote: @Shadow : (02-28-2020, 10:39 PM)Spalea Wrote:(02-28-2020, 08:57 PM)Pckts Wrote: Just a side note, Zebras are extremely alert animals, much harder to hunt than Wildebeest for example. This may be why the Lioness wanted to go for the throat right away. Zebra are the same size as Wildebeest but a little more robust but definitely seem more defensively aggressive. They're smaller than your average Horse that you see being rode but still not an animal to take lightly. 
I think the difference between zebra and wildebeest predation difficulty is encompassed within the fact leopard prey much heavier on wildebeest, and rarely if ever on adult zebra. You just dont see it as much, and i highly doubt it has to do with abundance as a primary factor.
I thought I'd say my piece on the conversation here adressed by @ragelion :)
So, and correct me if I'm wrong, you point is that lions are very strong animals and use this great physical strength to pull down very large megafauna (>1000kg) and then kill them. Lions are enormously powerful animals, and possess great physical strength. It is very apparent that their bodies are designed to maximize physical strength per their size; they have exceptionally low body fat and very light skeletons, both of which allow for them minimize their weight while still maintaining strength they need to hunt. Their frames, because of this, are dominated by dense skeletal muscle -- moreso than almost any other extant mammals. Additionally, high quantities of forcefully-contracting fast-twitch muscle fibers give them the 'explosive power' big cats are known for. Lions, and big cats in general, evolved their great physical strengty in order to overpower large prey. They use this strength, then, to take down the large prey within their preferred prey weight range, i.e. ~190-550kg. Yet, lions occasionally take prey above this preferable weight range -- sometimes they kill prey much larger, in fact. This is where a lion's strength meets its limits. Because this prey is so much stronger than their usual targets, and so much stronger than a lion, they must rely on the other elements of their arsenal more heavily and capitalize on weaknesses this large prey might have. Strength isn't all that a lion specializes in; the same light skeleton that minimizes weight also, and perhaps more importantly, is flexible and allows for great maneuverability and agility for hunting. They have retractable claws that can hook into or tear thick hides of large prey, and they have powerful jaws to deliver a killing bite. Because can't simply overpower a hippo, for example, they must use their other assets -- their agility to outmaneuver and overwhelm the much larger-framed animal, can use their claws to grip onto the back, finally using their jaws to crush the spinal cord. There is a reason a lion has these numerous other abilities; they are just as important as their strength and primary in attacking a large animal that they can't outmuscle. 
Old Buffalo bull killed by a pride of lions
 *This image is copyright of its original author https://www.africahunting.com/media/old-buffalo-bull-killed-by-a-pride-of-lions.78893/full?d=1553779409
Lion hunts on this video a baboon, obviously lion is way faster runner as this incident shows
One interesting thing to observe is how other baboons flee even though one of them is caught. With leopards it´s well known (and also seen in some clips), that other baboons can attack leopard together in this kind of situation. In this other baboons continue to run for their lives..... Of course they might be afraid, that something like in the end of this one could follow and don´t dare to try their luck....
This clip shows how lioness first notices, that hippo is too much and then she is so sloppy, that it almost cost her life. Maybe she learnt a lesson for future. Interesting clip, not too many of this kind in which lion get bitten by a hippo.
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