Crocodile and Big cats Interaction

[Spalea]

@Apex Titan 

You said " I feel sorry for the crocodile, but the male lion looks very cute nipping and pulling on the crocodile like that. Like it was playing with the croc.


If the lion wanted to actually kill that crocodile, then there certainly would have been a dead crocodile. The lion was much bigger. "

Yes, I'm agree with you. This male lion's temperament disconcerts me a little bit. It sounds like a domestic cat's one: playing with the victim as it does, to mutilate it without killing it (1mn43 sec., we can briefly see the croc's left hind leg is wounded, perhaps snapped). I can hardly imagine that a solitary cat (tiger, jaguar or leopard) once seriously entered a fight, is going to let its prey.

I just retranscribe here the comments below the video:

" A pride of lions walking by a waterhole spot a crocodile outside the water. Because it's winter and cold, the croc is too slow to react.  The lions, on the other hand, grab their opportunity to go in for the attack. But, the croc wasn't going to give up without a fight! BOOK YOUR TRIP TO KRUGER: http://bit.ly/BookatKruger Lions are known for their feisty and fierce nature, but to take on a crocodile is quite something. Of course, outnumbering a crocodile could be to their advantage, but still. A fully grown crocodile can reach up to 7 meters (22.9 feet) in length and weigh in at 1 ton (2204 pounds). As opposed to a fully grown lion which only weighs up to 270 kilograms (595 pounds). Naturally, these two species are both incredible hunters and known for their great tactics when taking down prey. But crocodiles have an immense bite force and are capable of severely injuring a lion given the chance. These lions knew that ganging up on this poor reptile would definitely count in their favour. 15-year-old student Connor Dawes and his family had the thrill of seeing this incredible sighting at Entabeni Game Reserve in the Waterberg. Connor shared this exciting story with LatestSightings.com: That moment a pride of lions attack a crocodile walking on land "We watched a male lion walk down the dirt road along a dam. The male lion met up with a few youngsters and they all continued walking along the road. They came to where the crocodile was basking in the sun. Suddenly the male lion attacked the crocodile." "I was shocked that a lion would even think of taking on a crocodile. I wasn’t really worried for the crocodile - that was until the lion grabbed its back leg and pulled it away from the water. The rest of the pride joined in and continued provoking and attacking the crocodile." "Eventually, the crocodile managed to escape and I was relieved that we wouldn’t see the lion kill the crocodile. The crocodile swam away and the lions moved off and lay down as if nothing had happened. I have never seen anything like this before. Even our game ranger said she had never seen or heard of anything like this happening." "We saw the crocodile the next day swimming in the dam, and friends who visited two weeks later also confirmed that the crocodile was still doing alright." 

Of couse this croc wasn't a fully grown one. Only 3 meters long (longer than the male lion's body) and weighing not 2204 pounds as it is said, perhaps one-fifth of this figure. Once again, the lions were sure to win, an easy meal is scarce in wild even if the croc's flesh wouldn't been appreciated by the lions, but, out of laziness, the male lion drops it. Reply