Lion Predation

[Psps77]

   A Panthera blog post reporting a rare and exceptional occurrence of coalitions of male lions hunting adult elephants nearby Matusadona NP in Zimbabwe. No photography or video evidence is provided by the blog, horewer, given that some blogs from Panthera usually ends up being sneak peek of scientific papers, a proper description of this phenomena could be in the near future. A couple of snippets from the blog:

In nearby Matusadona National Park, however, there are individual coalitions of males which seem to specialize in hunting adult elephants. It's difficult to comprehend why or even how they do it, especially because they are in an ecosystem with adequate alternative prey, which makes it more baffling. This may be a case of learned behavior that is very localized.—Kristoffer Everatt

  Key word is "seem" as it's not entirely clear if it is in reference towards the predation event or the specialization of said event. The blog also mentions crocodile predation by lions in the same area. Which came as a surprise, considering how dangerous a Nile crocodile can be.

Crocodile predation is also a rare occurrence that can be difficult to explain. Why would lions risk taking down such a dangerous carnivore, especially one that spends so much time hidden beneath the surface of a river? The mere presence of crocodiles does pose a risk to lions — crocodiles have been known to kill lion cubs. However, crocodile predation is oddly very common in and around Matusadona National Park. I have also documented it in Kruger National Park in South Africa. —Kristoffer Everatt

   Overall an interesting blog about predatory dinamics in a specific environment.Lion predation on adult elephants and crocodiles

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