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Lion Predation
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 (07-23-2019, 12:09 AM)Pantherinae Wrote:(07-21-2019, 02:33 PM)Shadow Wrote: This is about lioness killing alone bull cape buffalo, which I mentioned in thread "Lion directory" posting #245 and now @Djumafan had noticed update, which he posted in thread "Lions of Sabi Sands" posting #1993".Wow this was impressive. I have never heard about a lone lioness killing a buffalo bull. Yes and I checked two studies briefly. And in both adult cape buffalo bulls had average weight of over 750 kg  (07-23-2019, 12:15 AM)Shadow Wrote:Yes they are big powerful animals. The largest bulls will probably exceed 1000kg. A bull that had just passed in a Danish ZOO I visited in The summer had weighed a ton and it wasn’t the biggest cape, but likely had some extra kilos by being in captivity.(07-23-2019, 12:09 AM)Pantherinae Wrote:(07-21-2019, 02:33 PM)Shadow Wrote: This is about lioness killing alone bull cape buffalo, which I mentioned in thread "Lion directory" posting #245 and now @Djumafan had noticed update, which he posted in thread "Lions of Sabi Sands" posting #1993".Wow this was impressive. I have never heard about a lone lioness killing a buffalo bull.
Now the final part about lioness Tsalala and killing a cape buffalo bull alone was published, quote:
"It’s quite a feat for a single lioness – and not even a particularly big one – to bring down a buffalo by herself. Especially when there is an ample supply of far easier (at least seemingly easier) prey species at hand in the form of impala, bushbuck, nyala and a number of other antelope species. Yet that is exactly what the Tsalala lioness accomplished last week in an insane display of strength. Ranger Greg Pingo heard the buffalo’s distress calls, and found the lioness and her kill when she was already opening it up. Certain factors almost certainly acted in the lioness’ favour. The buffalo looked like an old bull and was therefore slightly weaker than a male in his prime. The river sand in which she took him down probably helped anchor the bull, preventing him from moving fast and perhaps making good an escape. The thick bank of Matumi trees probably hemmed him in, acting like a wall against which he could be cornered. I’m in no way attempting to belittle the lioness’ accomplishment here; quite the opposite in fact, as I’m singing her praises for recognising a superb opportunity and capitalising on it. That buffalo fed her and her cubs (and one of the Birmingham males) for a further 6 days! The supply of buffalo bulls in the Sand River has been noticeably short since the drought of 2015-16 (the drop in numbers can be largely attributed to the senior Tsalala females that were around then, as at one stage were bringing down the old buffalos almost daily), but two years of better rainfall has seen a gradual bounce back in the numbers, and a couple of older males have started splintering off into bachelor existences in the reedbeds and palm thickets. Tracking big cats into these areas has become noticeably more intense, as the likelihood of bumping into a recalcitrant bull unexpectedly is significantly higher than it was 24 months ago. This will be a state of affairs that the Tsalala lioness will relish, as if more and more opportunities like this one present themselves, she can essentially be care-free for a couple of days while she and her litter devour their meal. Hyenas tend to keep well clear of lions in this area (they have more than enough food to scavenge off the local leopard population), and it is only other lions that the Tsalala female needs fear. She narrowly avoided being run off the kill only a couple of hours after she made it when the Ntsevu pride wandered through the area only about 800m away, downwind, but fortunately they didn’t get a whiff of the carcass. The lioness moved off after just under a week, not going far and remaining in the reedbeds of the Sand River. She has not been seen for a couple of days now and we suspect the small pride is still inhabiting the River downstream from camp. Hopefully the female is simply waiting for the next buffalo that happens along…" Source: https://blog.londolozi.com/2019/07/24/ts...a8f343fd8d  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Look at those bellies of cubs  Some more photos if you open that link to blog.  *This image is copyright of its original author
It is odd, when looking at this lioness, that it´s called small. It looks like quite decent sized, but then again, belly is full :)
 *This image is copyright of its original author Damn this is one impressive lioness, just had to say it one more time :)
This is tough one, not giving up. It is a benefit to be a male lion, when injured this badly.
 *This image is copyright of its original author Mane is still very good looking.  *This image is copyright of its original author Here whole story... I just noticed that wrong thread, but on the other had this is a good example, how a member of pride can survive even though not able to hunt itself. https://blog.londolozi.com/2019/07/30/ho...86840b1021
An elephant's trunk for lunch at a rather unsurprising place, Chobe National Park in northern Botswana: https://500px.com/photo/155316307/Trunk-...d=13478053
 *This image is copyright of its original author
(07-31-2019, 11:12 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: An elephant's trunk for lunch at a rather unsurprising place, Chobe National Park in northern Botswana: https://500px.com/photo/155316307/Trunk-...d=13478053 Lions there really are something special :) They seem to kill more elephants than lions in other regions. Here one article about lions there: http://www.itravelto.com/elephant-killers-botswana.html  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
This blog posting is worth reading. When there was just that incident, where lioness Tsalala killed alone big adult male cape buffalo, here is then another kind of story about a pride, which is surprising in it, that killing only rarely cape buffalos.
Headline: Why are the Ntsevu Lions Bad at Hunting Buffalo? https://blog.londolozi.com/2019/07/31/wh...6160cdcc9e  *This image is copyright of its original author The Ntsevu Pride bring down an adult buffalo, although to be fair, it was one of the Majingilane that was leading the charge in this instance.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Brutal yet moving, when tourists in Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa saw a lioness feeding on a hartebeest, they expected it to keep on doing what it was doing, but they were in for a surprise: the lioness showed remorse after realising that it killed a pregnant antelope: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...elope.html
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Roman mosaic from Tunisia in the 2nd century showing 2 lions devouring a boar (I presume Barbary lions and a North African boar): https://www.flickr.com/photos/22490717@N02/7847199676
 *This image is copyright of its original author
One honey badger gets killed, looks like that just in wrong place wrong time. I´m not sure if first 55 seconds of this video are related to it, what happens from 0:56 forward.
Anyway for me it looks like it, that young male(s) kind of playing around with honey badger and not sure what to do. Then when lioness approaches suddenly, young male lion decides, that it is his. Quickly kills honey badger and takes it away from others. Who knows if that lioness wouldn´t have approached like that, young male might have let it go... pity in a way, I like honey badgers. Turn off voice if not liking dramatic music... I had to do so Edit: Actually that honey badger seems to be still alive at 2:08, even though not in shape to fight. Still impressive, imo! When scene changes at 2:16-2:17 it is obviously dead, killed in between. At 2:16 it is hanging from head, still at least a bit alive. At 2:17 it´s lifeless and lion carries it from tail. It would be interesting to see whole footage, but I haven´t seen longer version.
Looks like a young lion... and makes to think, that did it kill this honey badger to eat it or to use it as a toy... that doesn´t look too serious trying what comes to rip it open. Some lions eat at least partially honey badgers after killing, but some seem to maul them and leave to die like they do to hyenas. Or maybe this just is the first honey badger for this lion and still learning.
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