Lion Kill Number 2 on Vuyani
A few days ago our guests witnessed one of these things that are so rare, you know they will not be seen again by them. In fact, most rangers will only witness a lion kill a very few times in their entire career, so this is not standard stuff!
So what happened?
Mike, one of our rangers, had found the lions chilling in the riverbed near the Vuyani Safari Lodge. They must have been successful the night before, as they looked very well fed and calm. The male lion had walked of for a stroll, and after an hour of observing the lionesses (and the cubs), the male lion called them, and so they started moving towards him. Right at that moment an unsuspecting warthog mother, with her little ones wandered foolishly into the riverbed, right into the lions. She shrieked of anguish and started running away at full speed. But, alas, it was too little, too late. Right in front of our guests (lucky them!!), the lions leapt towards the warthog, pounced upon her, and took her down within seconds. The warthog tried to kick and scream her way out if it, but the end was inevitable, and brutal. This is nature, and it is survival of the fittest after all.
This kill was completely opportunistic, and the young lions were pleased with their kill, and didn’t let the male lion even get close to it. This was theirs, and they were going to keep it! Well, let’s say that they were lucky he wasn’t hungry anyway, otherwise he would have insisted quite a bit more than he did.
His involvement with teaching and raising them is in any case very much unusually high, so he seems to have moved with times as well. 😉
Mike managed to tape most of the kill, and we have edited it into a movie clip, and uploaded it.
Please click her to see it: Lion kill near the Vuyani Safari Lodge
Please bear in mind though that this is only the second kill we have seen in 4 years, so it is important to know that one should not visit and expect to witness such a rare event. It happens, but it is just the cherry on the cake!
Shame I didn’t see it myself. Typical.
