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Lion Predation
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  *This image is copyright of its original author http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3062563/That-s-tall-order-Incredible-pictures-lone-lioness-battling-bring-towering-giraffe-feed-hungry-cubs.html
From: Londolozi
Are Lions Lazy? James Tyrrell January 18, 20188 No, they’re not. Case closed. I should really leave it there, but there’s a lot more to it of course. One of the best lines I’ve read in a nature book came from Creatures of Habit, by Peter Apps and Richard du Toit – at least I think it did – and it simply stated that: Quote:Animals never do nothing. This doesn’t sound particularly profound, yet it sums up nature pretty well. Ouridea of doing nothing involves lying on a couch, inactive, being lazy basically, but laziness is a privilege reserved almost exclusively for humans. A lazy animal wouldn’t make an effort when it should, but ultimately this would be detrimental to its well-being, and that’s counter-intuitive in terms of the genetic drive to reproduce (the chances of which are effectively cancelled if you don’t survive). I mention laziness as a purely human trait since we are generally not at the mercy of our environment; we have changed our environment to suit us, and the advancement of human civilisation has got our species to the point where we can lie around all day doing nothing, and then go to the supermarket and buy food. Obviously we need a bit of money to do that, so some work at some point would have been necessary, but there isn’t a lot of consequence in terms of low productivity levels when it comes to survival. At least not in the short term. Lions, however, can’t rely on their local grocer or anything of the sort. Granted they may steal a kill from time to time, but this also comes with its inherent risks.  *This image is copyright of its original author The Mhangneni pride and a Majingilane, at 11am on hot morning, not being lazy. Photograph by Grant Rodewijk Lions have to eat or they will die. Yes the same can be said for us as animals, but the actual obtaining of food doesn’t require much effort on our part, in particular we don’t have to time our efforts to ensure the maximum reward possible (unless attending a sale or trying to avoid the queues). The same can’t be said for the big felines however, and herein lies the rub. Nature is about energy conservation. Risk vs. reward. Output vs. input. Wild animals in nature need some benefit in order to be motivated to perform an activity, even if that benefit may not be immediately obvious to our human eyes. Lions lying sleeping in the shade on a hot day are not being lazy. That is a human trait. They are conserving energy during the least energetically efficient time of the day. The chances of them successfully hunting when it is hot and when it is light enough for most prey species to see them coming are significantly lower than during the cool of the evenings, when the darkness is advantageous to their superior eyesight and they won’t lose as much energy while their bodies attempt to regulate their temperatures. If the energy costs involved in an activity aren’t outweighed by its potential benefits, they simply won’t do it.  *This image is copyright of its original author These lions (Sparta Pride) were fast asleep late on a hot October morning when this emaciated buffalo cow hove into view. Recognising an opportunity in which the benefits of the effort were likely to validate the energy expenditure, they sprung into action. Watch the full video of the hunt below. Lions therefore aren’t being lazy when they’re lying around. Their apparent laziness is simply them opting to wait for the opportune time to get active. The whole males-are-lazier-than-females debate is fallacy as well, but we’ll go into that next week.  
Life is full of ups & downs...
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You've gotten me on an Earless kick @Spalea
Earless and Boxer Nose . Nov/2017 Credit to: Brian Everitt  *This image is copyright of its original author Reinhard Radke Nature Photography In a there is a hyena that had eaten up to the end of the carcass, between the pines of a very angry lion! In a split second one scavenger, which was still feeding at the back of the carcass, finds itself in the jaws of a very angry lion.  *This image is copyright of its original author Such a small distance to a lion is usually extremely stay for the health of a hyena! Under normal conditions such short distance to a lion would be lethal for any hyena.  *This image is copyright of its original author What a pathetic leap! He's fat, and his skinny legs can barely bring him forward. He leaves it in danger and doesn't follow the hyenas seriously. What a poor jump for a lion! He is full and his legs are thin. He doesn’t dare to follow the scavengers.  *This image is copyright of its original author Boxernose ^^ I believe  *This image is copyright of its original author I think boxernose looks like a fine lion at such an old age. Boxernose is much older than earless. The person who posted that boxernose has thin arms is wrong in my opinion. Earless is 7 so I'd say boxer nose is around 10? Here is a nice hunt, earless taking down cow buffalo alone. http://matirasafari.com/successful-earle...e/?lang=en (01-29-2018, 11:24 PM)TheLioness Wrote: The cow was being hunted by the pride prior to Earless joining and that can and will wear out any animal, I highly doubt earless would have much of a problem preying on a Cape Cow any way unless she was a big girl. In regards to his statement, he's just comparing his limbs to the rest of his heavily gorged body. He's had a good look at Boxernose so I'm sure he's coming from an objective place.
I'm sure the little bit of running didn't wear that buffalo out to make it weak. Buffalo have amazing endurance. I believe earless could take down a bull.
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(01-29-2018, 11:48 PM)TheLioness Wrote: I'm sure the little bit of running didn't wear that buffalo out to make it weak. Buffalo have amazing endurance. I believe earless could take down a bull. Considering you have an entire event going on while the males rested far away, you can assume it went on for some time. You also see the females being chased so it was a back and forth event. I'm not sure how amazing buffalo endurance is, they seem like lumbering runners who never maintain long distance, they would always run a short distance then stop and turn around, not sure if it has to do with them not being able to run far or just their attitude but that was always the case with them. In regards to males taking down bulls, I have said this many times, I don't see how a large bull of either species "Gaur or Cape" can fall victim to predation by lone Lions or Tigers, I know they do so that's that. But I do know that Bulls of either species come in many different sizes, when you see a really big bull and you see a big cat, it's not even comparable. The cat is completely outmatched, so my mind always assumes there are other factors that benefit the hunter in that scenario.
Of course, lions and tigers usually pick out the weaker and sicker. I doubt any buffalo we've seen taken by either lion or tiger have been prime animals. That's my guess on how they do it.
As for endurance, there have been cases of hunts lasting hours and still the buffalo lives. So I'd say they both have great endurance. However in this case the buffalo cow might have been sickly or just that the male lion was able to knock her down with his great strength. https://blog.rhinoafrica.com/2014/06/04/...o-vs-lion/ (01-30-2018, 12:20 AM)TheLioness Wrote: Of course, lions and tigers usually pick out the weaker and sicker. I doubt any buffalo we've seen taken by either lion or tiger have been prime animals. That's my guess on how they do it.I'd take that claim with a grain of salt if I were you, in regards to hunts lasting hours, that is very true. But that isn't like wild dogs chasing down impala for miles and miles, that is the tracking, stalking, attacking, fighting and killing. And if a prey is worthy, the fight may last a long time with the both predator and prey taking breaks before continuing. Endurance is going to be subjective, a big buffalo will tire out faster than a Wildabeast or Zebra, it's body is big and heavy, it requires much more oxygen.
Take what claim with a grain of salt? You don't think big cats go for weaker prey?
Lioness pulls down buffalo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d1OCE2F3LSY Male with his kill  *This image is copyright of its original author Male with kill  *This image is copyright of its original author
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