Lion predation on the African Black Rhinoceros

[peter]

LIONS AND RHINOS

The info posted by Spalea is as clear as it gets: in the days wild country was still plentiful, some saw things considered impossible today. You can consider anything you want, but there's no question experienced and reliable observers saw lions attack and bring down adult rhinos.  


AMAZING STORIES

I've read many books written by naturalists, rangers and hunters. Most were written a long time ago, when there were still ten lions for every one today. On the move all the time, often on their own or with a few trackers and a cook, they saw things we just can't imagine today. Lions were not the only ones who surprised them time and again. One ranger saw a long and titanic struggle between a python and a large croc. The python, badly bitten, had the croc near the base of the tail and the skull and finally was able to break his spine. A few days later, the ranger was able to get to the croc, who was lying on a bank in the middle of the river. The diamonds he found in its stomach enabled him to support the reserve that employed him. True story. There are many. 

In the days when it was unclear if man or animal would prevail in very wild regions, strange strings happened. Some of the stories I read were amazing. What I later heard from those who had lived in wild country all their life also was.


SCIENCE

Science is a great instrument to get to knowledge. It has been tested and proven to be effective. Without science, the world would have been very different. Not saying most of us would have been involved in struggles started by religious institutions just like many centuries ago, but it could have been close. Better not forget that.

Science, however, is in particular true at the level of millions. Not always at the level of individuals. Percentagewise, the number of exceptions is limited, but in absolutes it's not. This also is true. The reason is every living creature is an exception.

Science is about knowledge. As it takes a lot of time to get to knowledge, those involved in science need time. And money. In Europe, the State used to pay. The last decades, however, the American model has been introduced. This means big firms now sponsor scientists at times. Those they can use, I mean. As they can't use bad results, scientists are encouraged to find nice results.

What I'm saying is science has been very important for development, but there are a few disadvantages.

       
THEN AND NOW

Returning to the natural world and fantastic stories. When you hear or read these stories, PC, remember the world of today is very different from back then. The changes nearly happened overnight. I saw part of it happen and adapted, but never forgot it was weird. I also didn't forget about the impact it had. Too keep it short: much was lost and much was gained. 

Over here, today, we talk animals. The more you know, the weirder the stories you read may seem. This is a result of specialisation. When you have to get to an opinion about these stories, you are on your own.     

When you try to get to an evaluation, you have to remember today is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. One in which not the natural world, but something else is important. Not good or bad, just the way it is.


ON YOUR OWN

When interested in the natural world, read articles first. This is solid info. But remember it's a part of reality only. It's foremost true at a high level of perception. Not always at the level of individuals. When you can afford it, do a safari every year. Talk to people who know things you don't. Record what you hear and see and forget about preference and things like that.

Humans are brainswashed all the time. The aim is to condition you. One result is the development of individuality will stop. Another is all start to look alike. The last stage of this development is to repeat 'There are no 12-feet tigers' or 'Lions do not attack rhinos'. When you comply, someone will bring you a banana. When you eat it, you will have lost the only thing of value you have. What I'm saying is it is about individuality and (spiritual) development in the end. Same for animals. Captive big cats are infants, whereas their wild relatives are adults.  

There are billions of humans. Every individual has to work at some stage. When you work for a big firm and, for instance, do marketing, you would like to see lookalikes all over the globe. The reason is this will facilitate marketing. For big firms, science can be a handy tool as well. But this is not the real object of science. What I'm saying is individuals will be overwhelmed by society sooner or later. This is the result of overwhelming numbers and a system in which everything is expressed in terms of money. Most adapt, but deep down they know life is about something else. The problem they forgot what is was.  

When you don't fit in and step aside for a moment, you will quickly notice you are on your own. When interested in the natural world, you need to turn around to take a closer look. When you return, you will notice you have become alienated. You can't talk about the things you know with those close to you. Not really. When you insist, things could take a bad turn.

So you move on. On your own. You will learn about incidents you don't believe at first. When you, after some time, conclude they could have been true, not one will take you seriously. So you keep quiet. You join a forum. You do another safari. In this way, slowly but surely, you will enter a different dimension. Suddenly, you understand those who worked for a big firm or government a century ago. Those who had to visit wild places and decided to leave the world they knew so well, never to return.

My advice is to prevent it, as there's not much left of the natural world. A decent safari will do for now. And when they start about lions and rhinos, you just shrug your shoulders and laugh. You know these stories were true, but there's no way to prove it. Besides, why would you want to convince those with a different opinion? There are other ways to use and work this kind of information. When you keep at it, chances are you will be able to use it one day. And when you talk about it, chances are they would be interested.

What happened is you learned something that can't be teached. People don't want to be convinced. In the end, they know what's true and what not. You just do what you got to do. One day, you will know how to interact about it. Today, you learned lions can hunt rhinos. Rhinos know. That's why they keep their distance. Same for elephants and Cape buffalos.

But these are big animals and they're not going to take it lying down. They take precautions. In spite of that, quite many are killed. Male elephants who lost family members sometimes grew to hate big cats. At times, they even 'hunted' a particular animal. Many fights witnessed a century ago in northern India were not a result of coincidence. A man who studied wolves wrote about confrontations between hunters and hunted. Before anything happened, there was the 'conversation of death'. 

The more you read, the more you learn. After reading many books, you would be the last one to describe a particular animal as 'intelligent' or not. Every wild animal that made it to adulthood is experienced and capable of learning. Wild big cats are very inquisitive and observative. They also have very defined ideas about a few things and know about interacting. At times, they enter situations we wouldn't understand. But they do. There always is a reason to engage an animal that can kill you. The only way to find it is to tune in. The best way to fail is to decide for something else.

Read your report about CITES. Interesting and many thanks. Reply