Category: Wildlife

Kim Hathway, a consultant broker for Discovery, saw the entire scene play out in Etosha National Park.

Kim and her friends were the only people at the Aus waterhole on the day, having no luck with their sightings, they were just about to move on to their next location. Then, out of nothing but luck, a lioness stuck her head over the hill.

The pride of lions made their way toward the waterhole, filling the atmosphere with excitement. Kim had a feeling that they were ready for action.

A few minutes on, a large black rhino came galloping over the very same hill. Exhausted by the Namibian heat, it headed straight for the little that remained in the waterhole. It instantly plonked itself down, trying to cool off in the muddied water.

Kim couldn’t believe her luck. At the time the rhino couldn’t seem to care about the nearby predators, it was too set on getting a drink, but the lions were certainly aware of it.

The pride inched their way closer and closer, but the rhino didn’t let out much of a reaction. It was almost as if it couldn’t…

This is when Kim realized that something was wrong. The waterhole was quite deep and with the thick mud at the bottom, the rhino was simply stuck and became a sitting duck for the hungry pride of lions.

The lions eventually realized what was happening too and decided to make the most of their luck. Although they knew it was stuck, they were still fully aware of how dangerous a rhino can be. They approached with caution and used hunting tactics to try and finish the job.

Sadly, there wasn’t much that the immobile rhino could do, but all the commotion created by the lions amazingly gave the helpless rhino a lifeline! A passing herd of elephants saw what was happening and acted immediately. They charged at the pride as a unit, and the lions were forced to back off.

With the threat out of sight, most of the herd continued on their way, but one elephant wasn’t happy to leave the rhino at the mercy of the lions. It desperately tried to get the rhino out of the waterhole. Using its tusks and foot, it pushed and pushed, without any luck. At one point the ellie even looked like it was on top of the poor rhino.

This lasted for hours and it unfortunately came to the point where the elephant could simply do no more. It had to move on, even knowing that the lions were still around.

It didn’t take long for the pride to swing back into action. The elephant herd was still around, and they chased them off a few more times, but the ellies soon realized that the case was hopeless and that there was nothing they could do. Leaving the rhino all alone once more.

The lions came back in and eventually managed to flip the rhino on its back, leading to its inevitable drowning. The rhino’s fight was over, and the predators came out as the victors in this unbelievable wildlife story.

This footage was shared with LatestSightings.com by Shannon Finnegan after she took it while on a safari in the Kruger National Park.

Shannon tells us the story:
“We had been driving along this quieter dirt road in Kruger Park one hot afternoon. This particular road was not as popular with visitors, which is why we decided to give it a try.”

“After about two hours of very little wildlife sightings, we were taken by surprise when two lionesses walked out on to the road in front of us. Everyone in the car perked up and we felt so incredibly lucky to have such a close lion sighting and with no other cars around at the time. We followed slowly behind the lions for while they made their way along the road. It appeared that this was a mature lioness accompanied by a sub or young adult female.”

“We already felt things couldn’t get much better, but we were in for a heck of a show. Out of nowhere, a warthog walked out onto the road maybe 90-100 meters ahead. The lions behavior instantly switched to hunting mode and they jumped into the tall grass to start their ambush.”

“The direction and strength of the wind was at the advantage of the lions and the warthog never stood a chance. It was grazing along the center of the road and slowly making its way in the direction of our car.”

“It was incredible to see the lions hunting tactics. The younger female started to make her way around to position herself behind the incoming warthog. Every move was steady and she kept glancing back to the older female as if almost for approval of her approach.”

“The older female remained hidden close to our car and waited for the right moment to strike. Once the warthog was in reach, the younger female hopped out behind it and frightened it forward right into the jaws of the mature female. We could not believe what we had just witnessed. The lions quickly dispatched the warthog and the air filled with the smell of its now exposed intestines. The two females made quick work of their fresh meal. This is truly an encounter I will never forget and feel so grateful to have witnessed.”

The rivalry over territory can become an ugly one at times. And, when wild animals clash, you can be sure that there are never 2 winners, there will always be one between the two that pulls the shortest straw.

“When we heard the strange hyena calls, we quickly headed off to find out what was going on. Two hyenas were in the river – battling it out! One was the dominant and the other one trying to retreat.”

“We were all shocked as it was the first time any of us had seen such a vicious struggle between hyenas. It was harsh to watch as the hyena being struck was already badly wounded and looked exhausted and in pain. We felt obligated to watch though, as this was fascinating, especially being a field guide and never having seen something like this before – although –not pleasant to watch.”

“After about 2 hours of on and off fighting, we saw the original dominant and 2 other hyenas heading down the road towards the injured hyena, and at that stage, we knew that the hyena would not survive the last fight, so we decided to leave it in peace. We later found out from the office that the hyenas had finished the hyena off after we left.”

“We sent our footage through to a hyena expert to find out what they thought could have been the reason for such a battle. She explained that the 4 hyenas involved were all males. The young hyena (she could tell by the teeth) being pushed had probably recently left his clan to find another clan to join, as males will do to ensure genetic variation. The 3 males of this territory weren’t happy about it, which is something that happens from time to time.”

“This was the worst hyena encounter I have ever seen. Usually, you get the normal scuffle at food, but never an intense ongoing battle like this one. Even though it’s never pleasant watching any animal in distress, it is nature, which always has a purpose, and if you can stomach it –it’s a sighting you will never forget and probably never get to watch again! So take as much video and photos as possible, because it could be educational to others. “

When I met this capybara there was an instant bond. We were so happy to see each other. Listen to the noises he made when I have him attention. It was a wonderful feeling of oneness and kindness.

Fun Fact about Capybaras: They are so relaxed that they literally do not care what you do around them or to them as long as you don’t hurt them. You can often find them hanging out with predators like crocodiles or with small animals sitting on their backs and riding them. They also have a symbiotic relationship with birds as the capybaras will roll around in dirt and get insects all over them and the birds will land on them, eat the insects, and clean the capybara. Super cool rodents.

The monsoon storm system has finally come to Northern Australia, and the frilled neck lizard has begun to gorge itself on insects and other small prey.

These oogpister and bombardier beetles have developed a deadly defence mechanism – a sharp spray of boiling acid from the rear!

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Welcome to BBC EARTH! The world is an amazing place full of stories, beauty and natural wonder. Here you’ll find 50 years worth of entertaining and thought-provoking natural history content. Dramatic, rare, and exclusive, nature doesn’t get more exciting than this.

After hearing a male leopard had been found we all got excited and headed into the area.

The male leopard started to walk along the banks of the Sand river scent marking all the way. It was at this moment we noticed the male lion lying in the river on the opposite bank.

I said to my guests ‘Can you imagine if these 2 dominant males came together’. It seemed as if my words weren’t cold because shortly after that the male leopard went to sleep and the lion started to stalk him from the other side of the river.”

Matthew stated that he had mixed emotions as this sighting started to unfold.

There was a lot of excitement and nerves building as the male lion started to stalk from across the Sand River.

As the lion got closer to the leopard, Matthew realized that if he caught the leopard, then he would potentially kill it. “At this point I started to warn my guests about what could happen.” But, before they knew it, the lion was right below the sleeping leopard!

Fortunately, the lion didn’t kill the leopard, but the sneaky lion scared the living daylights out of the leopard.

“The lion drove the leopard into a Leadwood tree on the river bank and then had a drink and moved off out of the area”.

As fish stocks decline, thousands of cape gannet chicks are left exposed to predators. While both parents are away fishing, these pelicans seize a gruesome opportunity to feed their own young.

Nature is a production of THIRTEEN for PBS. Throughout its history, Nature has brought the natural world to millions of viewers. The PBS series has been consistently among the most-watched primetime series on public television.

Explore the landscape and wildlife of the Upper Okavango River, where the deep water shows elephants swimming and carving channels through the reeds and papyrus, setting small birds afloat to drift past hippos and crocodiles. A lioness severely injured by a buffalo is left for dead by her pride. Now disabled, she must survive in the swamp alone, hunting to feed her little cubs.