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Tag: Wildebeest

  • Hyena Chases Wildebeest Off a Cliff

    The wildest turn of events happened at Manyeleti Game Reserve recently. A lone wild dog caught an impala, which was taken by a lone cheetah, which was then taken by a lone lion!

    The virtual safari team at Tintswalo Safari Lodge, and one of their guests, Dean Robinson, captured the footage. The wild dog was too quick to be filmed, sadly, but what happened after that was incredible and all captured.

    Wild dogs don’t often hunt alone, but this one did. A nearby cheetah watched everything play out and noticed it had no friends around, so it challenged and was able to take the wild dog’s catch quite easily.

    Cheetahs are often victims of food theft themselves, so seeing one take a meal from another predator is extremely rare, but that isn’t how this story ends.

    The cheetah, feeling very proud, just sat down to enjoy its meal when the sound of heavy footsteps brought everything to a swift end. You could almost feel the cheetah’s disappointment as it stopped eating to scan the bushes.

    It was exciting for everyone watching in the vehicles! There was something very concerning for the cheetah, but what? Then it appeared, one of the most famous lions in the reserve, the Red Road Male!

    This is a big lion, and everyone expected the cheetah to bolt at first glance, and would you blame it? But it didn’t… Maybe it had a boost of confidence from the wild dog interaction, or maybe it was just really hungry, but it chose to stay!

    The lion wasn’t intimidated by the stare-down at all. He approached the cheetah and didn’t break his gaze even once. The cheetah was incredibly still holding its ground, and knew it had to try something else. The impala was far too heavy for it to carry away, so it started moaning!

    It wasn’t very intimidating, more of a frustration call, but it was incredible to hear, and it got louder as the lion came closer. Silence came shortly after when the lion’s movement changed. Then, just as the lion started trotting, the cheetah dashed for safety into the bushes.

  • Wildebeest Walks Right Into Lions

    Luke, was out on safari and managed to track 5 lionesses. Seeing lions is exciting, every time, but better yet, they had them walking right on the sand road. At this point no one (not even the lions) could have predicted what was up the road, heading their way.

    After rounding a slight bend in the road, the lions’ behavior changed. All of them became much more tense and focused. They were onto something, and it was close! Four of the lionesses crouched into a pouncing position, while one of them broke off the road and into the bush.

    The anticipation on the safari vehicle was through the roof. What was heading their way? And then they came… 4 wildebeests, walking blissfully right toward the calculating lionesses. The lions were only a few meters away, but their fur blended so well with the sand road that the wildebeests had no idea.

    The poor wildebeests were walking right into a trap, but even at this point, it wasn’t as clear-cut as most would think. The plan wasn’t to let dinner stroll right into them, no, there was more to it, and danger was closer to the wildebeests than the camera could tell.

    The wildebeests were getting nail-bitingly close, but before they could take another step, something came charging at them from the bushes! It was the lioness who had broken away from her sisters. She had circled through the bush to flank the wildebeests.

    The wildebeests scattered in panic, and the lioness went for the one in front, fleeing toward the bushes on the opposite side. This wasn’t ideal, as the plan was to drive the targets into her sister. So, the lioness had to work extra hard to redirect the wildebeest back to the road, and that’s exactly what she did!

    As soon as it ran back toward the road, the unfortunate wildebeest lost all its chances and was quickly brought down. For the lionesses, it was a lucky opportunity, and they made it count!