A hungry lion recently attacked a herd of buffalo and took down one victim in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. But the big cat’s biggest challenge lay ahead: moving his quarry away from the fallen buffalo’s comrades. (Watch the video below.)
One member of the herd gored the stricken buffalo right in front of the lion and another rushed directly at the predator, as shown in footage posted Tuesday to wildlife website Latest Sightings.
The lion backed off temporarily before clamping onto the young buffalo’s head and dragging the carcass across the sand and bush. An amazed truckload of observers watched the proceedings.
Latest Sightings noted that lions’ carrying strength is adapted from the necessity to move prey away from scavengers.
Lions have previously shown off their capacity to easily tote heavy carcasses a long way.
And the new video shared by Jock Safari Lodge guide Louis Strauss made it crystal clear that when the king of the beasts wants to eat, he’s willing to carry his lunch for quite a while.
“In the end, the lion was able to single-handedly drag the buffalo carcass across the entire riverbed,” Strauss told the site. “He then proceeded to feed on his hard-earned meal in the shade of some nearby bushes.”