Lioness lying in ambush to kill a buffalo. Image: iStock
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Louis Strauss tells LatestSightings.com the story of the Lions Eat Buffalo: “Early morning, I heard a bit of a buffalo commotion from out in the bush. I climbed onto a nearby rocky outcrop and scanned the vicinity. At about 2km away, I then got visual of a herd of buffaloes running, while a few of the big bulls turned around, so I knew a chase was on!”
“I know there are lions in the area, so with the distress calls, it surely must have been a pride of lions chasing the herd.”
“As I got to the scene, I spotted a lioness in the reeds. The lioness’s sisters all have cubs at the moment which is why they are all hunting individually. I was really excited, as even after working in the Kruger for 12 years, a lioness successfully catching a buffalo on her own is not a common sighting.”
“I immediately called the sighting in on the radio so the other rangers could bring their guests to see the action. The rangers know that when I say “Shova”, it means “get a move on” and that the sighting is good, so they all responded extremely quickly!”
“In the end, just before the lioness could get a proper feed, a male lion took the buffalo from her and spent the day feeding. But, in the late evening, 3 lionesses then fed on the buffalo. The next day, at night, the dominant males of the area chased the first, Mpondo male lion, from the buffalo and while that was happening, hyenas took over and finished off the buffalo to the bone.”
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