sitesleft.blogg.se

At 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall and 1,500 pounds (680.4 kilograms), this abundant and unpredictable creature is in no mood for monkey business (or lion or leopard business). The African buffalo hunts little more than grass, but you wouldn't want to bump into one in a dark alley. Winfried Wisniewski/The Image Bank/ ­Getty Images These killers hunt in packs to limit injury, often between dusk and dawn. Lionesses are lighter, faster and more agile than males, and these traits make them deadly hunters. While the lionesses hunt, the males stay back to defend the territory, protect the cubs and keep watch for overly ambitious lone males who know a good situation when they see it. Lionesses do more than 90 percent of the hunting, while the male shows up after the kill, demanding and receiving first dibs on the meat. If he isn't killed in the process, the usurped male must leave and become a loner, doing his best to survive alone or looking for another pride with a male he can conquer. A male may hold its top spot in the pride for several years, but eventually he will be killed or run off by a younger or stronger outsider. A pride may have up to two unrelated adult male lions, and these males are under near-constant assault from other males trying to move in on their territory. The males, on the other hand, generally move on after reaching adulthood - nature's way of stirring the genetic pot. First, we'll learn a little more about these two combatants, either of which can turn from predator to prey, or vice versa, in the blink of an eye.

In this article, we'll learn how an African buffalo defends itself from the lion. Sometimes, young cubs, once they arrive on the scene, will crawl into the buffalo and eat it from the inside out. A favorite point of entry is the anus, which they will graciously clean before ripping it open. Before the buffalo is dead, the lions will have begun nibbling and tenderizing it, trying to work their way through the thick hide. Another lion may also attempt to break the buffalo's neck or crush its windpipe. While the buffalo is held down, one lion will place its entire mouth over the buffalo's snout to suffocate it. They trip up buffalo by attacking the hind side or rear legs, and once the buffalo goes down, the others move in for the kill. Younger, smaller lions will often chase the herd to a central "kill zone," where larger, more experienced lions position themselves for the attack. ­­Lions often wait out in the open near the water for buffalo to approach, but they also hide in the sierra's tall grasses to ambush the herd. These roles can switch from day to day, depending on which lions are going on the hunt, how large and fast each member of the hunting party is, and the number, size and strength of the herd they will attack. For instance, some lions flush out or separate buffalo from the herd, while others go in for the attack. During long, dry African summers, lions get the opportunity to kill these mammoth beasts by waiting near scarce, life-sustaining pockets of water that buffalo must approach each day.įemale lions do the majority of the hunting, choosing a tactic depending on conditions. There's plenty of good eating to be had if the pride can bag a 1,500-pound (680-kilogram) African buffalo.