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Can a Lone Male Lion have a successful predation on a Adult Bull Buffalo?
Can a Lone Male Lion have a successful predation on a Adult Bull Buffalo?
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Can a Lone Male Lion have a successful predation on a Adult Bull Buffalo?
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I don't see why not. A male lion can have a successful predation on a bull buffalo, can also have and unsuccessful one. A 450 to 500 lb male lion attacking any buffalo is going to give it hell. It's all about the technique, and a little a bit of luck I guess. Sometimes the male lion will succeed, sometimes not.
Of course they can this is reported from the Masai Mara, the Serengeti, The Ngorongoro Crater, Ruaha, Selous, Duba plains, and Kruger....I even witnessed that with my own eyes earlier this month where a massive Crater male lion killed a bull Buffalo from a bachelor herd, another massive lion and two lionesses kept the other Buffalo from attempting to rescue their fallen comrade.
Derek and Beverly Joubert detail lion predation on Buffalo in a great book and film " Relentless Enemies" and Wildcam Africam and the African wild life blog showed videos and pictures of lone lions killing bull Buffalo over the years. This of course is quite rare for a multitude of reasons: 1- Buffalo remains a formidable prey that is more likely than not repel a lone lion attack 2- Buffalo are social animals than congregate in groups of a handful old bulls, a dozen or so bachelor herds, and breeding herds from fifty to one thousand and five hundred animals , a big buffalo herd is the most challenging prey because you are not only attacking a 550 kg female or a 750 kg bull you are likely to face another thousand monster of the most powerful horns of any ungulate, I saw a buffalo head butt and displace an elephant in a water hole in Masai Mara recently. Buffalo also premepively attack lions and trample their Cubs to death 3- A lone lion is most likely either a nomad that does not want to attack a buffalo and be stuck in protracted and noisy struggle that is likely to alert the resident male lions which are the nomads worst nightmare, or if it is a resident lion it will not attempt a dangerous attack it may not win, it will simply summon its coalition partners if any and the pride lionesses and then the chance of spooking the herd , isolating a suitable victim and killing it is more likely 4- In Pendjari Park in West Africa small lion groups of one lioness and her cubs kill adult Buffalo regularly and it is their main food source, Buffalo is also the chief prey in the Okavango, Kruger, Ruaha, Ruwanga, and Lake Manyara in terms of biomass And it is so in the Serengeti ecosystem when the migratory animals are not present. So specialist Buffalo hunters are all over Africa and may attempt single attacks ..rare but happen  
Could you show the link to that book where beverly speaks about a lone lion taking down a bull buffalo?
I have changed my mind over the years that it is possible, since I have now seen male and female tigers take down bull guar, I have no reason to think that a Lone lion couldn't take down a smaller bull cape. Its just such a rare occurrence and I'll i have seen over the years are failed attempts or pride hunting. I had only read of one story of a Healthy bull buffalo falling victim to a lone male lion, so its obviously a rarity for many reasons you have stated above. I also have to ask, do you have any pictures of these accounts? I know we would all love to see them. 
There was this youtube video of a male lion working on a redish Cape Bull, a big fella.He got him down and worked on it for a few hours, according to ...at that time ''sources/video posts''.
Oh well, i cant seem to find it anymore, but i remember posting it in AvA. (10-22-2015, 12:39 AM)Pckts Wrote: Could you show the link to that book where beverly speaks about a lone lion taking down a bull buffalo? The book is called Relentless Enemies I will see if I can get you the specific pages of it showing predation of single lions on Buffalo Bulls , in my recent research trip in Africa I did take some great pictures that I will post over the next few weeks, I regret that I missed photographing some great accounts due to running out of battery once and memory card another time but the photographer with us should get me something: A male lion male crocodile interaction on the Mara river bank A male lion driving 14 hyenas off an elephant carcass A male lion strangulating a buffalo bull A pride of lionesses eating a buffalo A male zebra chewing a new born Thomson s gazelle until it dies!!!!! I hope I can get pictures of some of all of this because I did see all that in less than a month in Africa...wildlife is truly the greatest spectacle on earth and I am a researcher and observer intransed with its beauty more than a professional photographer documenting it.
The predation prowess of both lions and tigers is best exemplified by their predation on large bovids and megafauna while these events remain rare, and target younger animals with solitary lions or tigers we still all have our hearts beat twice as fast when we see or read about a Sumatran tigress taking down a Banteng cow , or Indochinese Tigers in Thailand killing adult gaur, banteng, and water buffalo ( Smichaoren ) or lion prides who practically eat nothing but giraffe or Buffalo in several African areas, or the pride that Derek Joubert witnessed killing a six ton bull elephant in Botswana .
We know that tigers and lions are intelligent calculating predators that ruled their domains through brains before brawn and they will not take stupid risks with dangerous prey but sometimes it is a mixture of luck, opportunity, brute, force, intelligence, perseverance, team work, experience, and courage and we witness the impossible! I am in awe of these creatures that I named two of my sons Leo and Tiger
I must say Panthera, I enjoy your presence here. I truly cannot wait for these images and your words are appreciated.
I really look forward to that book scan as well, if you can find it of course. It interests me greatly. Thanks  (10-22-2015, 09:46 AM)Dr Panthera Wrote: The predation prowess of both lions and tigers is best exemplified by their predation on large bovids and megafauna while these events remain rare, and target younger animals with solitary lions or tigers we still all have our hearts beat twice as fast when we see or read about a Sumatran tigress taking down a Banteng cow , or Indochinese Tigers in Thailand killing adult gaur, banteng, and water buffalo ( Smichaoren ) or lion prides who practically eat nothing but giraffe or Buffalo in several African areas, or the pride that Derek Joubert witnessed killing a six ton bull elephant in Botswana . Great to see you here too @Dr Panthera. Just a side note, the only full grow 6 ton bull elephant killed by lions in Botswana was very weak and unable to stand up, so the lions did not "hunt" him, they just ate him practically alive. So I don't think this is a example of great skills, but just an opportunistic behavior, like sharks eating a whale carcass in the sea. The largest elephant killed by lions in that area, as far I remember, was a large female of probably 3-4 tons, still a great feat. I am fully agree that great cats are intelligent creatures, they are not searching the "Best fight", they calculate the risks and will choose the best available prey and some times, they challenge the largest bovids because is economically good (more food for less energy). (10-22-2015, 10:20 PM)GuateGojira Wrote:Yes Gojira he was injured by another bull , they still killed him versus scavenging his dead carcass but I would have bet on him repelling the attack if he was healthy, he remains none the less the biggest killed prey of big cats and the same pride killed several healthy adult female elephants and more sub adults in the mid nineties, but I still think that if you gave these lions herds of wildebeest,zebra, and buffalo they would have ignored the elephants(10-22-2015, 09:46 AM)Dr Panthera Wrote: The predation prowess of both lions and tigers is best exemplified by their predation on large bovids and megafauna while these events remain rare, and target younger animals with solitary lions or tigers we still all have our hearts beat twice as fast when we see or read about a Sumatran tigress taking down a Banteng cow , or Indochinese Tigers in Thailand killing adult gaur, banteng, and water buffalo ( Smichaoren ) or lion prides who practically eat nothing but giraffe or Buffalo in several African areas, or the pride that Derek Joubert witnessed killing a six ton bull elephant in Botswana . Need is the mother of invention and evolution
Here it is, i managed to find the old video of a lone male lion vs a cape bull.
This comes in two parts and it depicts a hard struggle, a major factor of the overnight battle could be the fact that this male lion looks somehow young and not to experienced, or maybe this is the most ''elegant'' approach that a male lion can achieve in this kind of situations? Anyways, the fact that he didn't finished him off overnight with his pride or coalition, makes me think that it was a young nomad, indeed, a male lion vs a ''black death'' bull match. Enjoy! Part 1: Part 2:   If this isn’t a finished debate:  *This image is copyright of its original author
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