Sometime during early morning coffee, before the sun had risen in the east, the Tsalala lioness killed an adult wildebeest bull only two hundred metres from the Londolozi Camps.
No one saw it, no one heard it.
The kill took place in the thickets barely 40 metres from the road, but the dense vegetation of summer meant that neither lion nor carcass was visible to the rangers, trackers or guests departing for morning game drive.
At least one hyena did come across the kill however, but whether by scent or sound we will never know. Realising it wouldn’t be able to chase the lioness off by itself, it started calling, and the local clan started rolling in in numbers.
It was the eerie whooping that alerted rangers to the commotion as well. Ranger Chris Taylor was close to camp and heard it, and our vehicle was about 800 metres up the hill watching some giraffe and we heard it clearly too.
Between us we were able to triangulate the rough position and drove there quickly, with ranger Melvin Sambo speeding in as a third.
This was what we saw:
Both lions were feeding quickly, most likely very aware of the impending hyena threat.
One of the hyenas whose vocalisations summoned the rest of the clan. Note her odd canine.
The Tsalala lioness kept looking around at the circling hyenas.
The lioness and her cub were on the kill and feeding, and a couple of hyenas were snooping around, clearly intent on mischief. There were not yet enough of them to be a real problem for the lions, but their numbers were growing as more and more arrived, responding to the calls of the first few.
I’ve read before that Derek Joubert estimated that the scales in a hyena versus lion conflict get tipped largely on biomass; i.e. the weight of hyenas involved must outweigh the lions they are facing off against. It’s obviously not an exact measurement, and I think it may have been something along the lines of the hyenas weight needing to double the lions’, but I might be mistaken. Given that a hyena probably weighs half a lioness, and two hyenas aren’t nearly enough to chase one adult lion away, I imagine it is probably something like the hyenas need to be double that of the lions in biomass (can someone help me out here?).
Either way, there need to be significantly more hyenas than lions to appropriate a kill from them (big male lions add a whole new dynamic to the equation), and it wasn’t long before the scales were seriously tipped in the hyenas’ favour. The cub broke first, fleeing into the thickets, and although the lioness did her valiant best to defend the wildebeest carcass, it wasn’t long before she too broke:
The hyenas devoured what they could whilst they could, but it wasn’t long before the lioness came rushing back in, and the hyenas scattered. Although they still held the upper hand numerically, I imagine they were nervous of more lions coming charging in rather than just the one female that was there. They rallied though, and once more the lioness was driven off, before she came in again to scatter the hyenas a second time, and her cub emerged safe and sound to join her.
As the heat rose everything settled down and the lions stayed on the carcass for the day, but as evening approached and the day cooled, the hyena whooping started up once more, and again the clan moved in to chase the lioness off. By this time though, there was hardly anything left to squabble over, and after picking off the few remaining choice bits, all the hyenas melted away, leaving the lioness and her cub to gnaw at the last bits of meat on the wildebeest’s spinal column.
Ultimately, both lions and hyenas had eaten their fill of the carcass, so in a rarity in the African wilds, it was a win-win…
How the cub managed to escape without being physically attacked by the hyenas? Why didn’t hyenas go after it?
Good question. I think it was primarily the wildebeest they were interested in, and the cub fled towards the side the hyenas weren’t on…
The Tsalala lioness is an amazing Mom, hunter and full of courage. To stave off – even for a while – 15 hyenas – on her own – is pluck in the extreme. Her youngster was not much use and scuttled off quickly. A very wise move. Thank you, James! Wendy M
What a video-whew! Good to know the lioness/cub were able to benefit from the wildebeest kill although they really had to work for their meal so as not to lose it to the pack of hyenas. Interesting to note how many hyenas it takes to overcome an adult lioness…… all’s well that ends well.
James, loved the video – Tsalala Lioness takes on 15 hyenas
I’m speechless.
James, Wow, talk about exciting! Awesome capture of this struggle for a meal. I wish it was much longer. Wish I was there but this is the next best thing
Great story and video. With the large numbers of lions and hyenas in the area I’m sure these interactions are fairly common. I wish the video was a bit longer and showed more of the interaction. Thankfully the cub made it out safely. where was the rest of her pride? It seems they would have heard the commotion. There are many theories on the numbers game and weights when it comes to these interactions but there are many videos on YouTube that show a few lionesses fending off a whole clan of hyenas and relatively small numbers of hyena chasing away just a few more lionesses. Adult males definitely tip the balance but it seems it comes down to the sheer aggression of either group when the numbers are not overly swayed.
Hi MIke, she has no pride sadly. She is the last one left; the others have died over the years.
Thanks for the reply. That is sad that her whole pride is gone. It will be very hard for her to raise her club on her own as the video proved.
And yes, I agree with you that it’s not simply a matter of biomass. Certain animals can be overly aggressive, often depending on individual temperament or what’s at stake.
Glad that her cub managed to come out of this encounter unscathed!
What an incredible sighting James. Am sure you all got a good adrenaline rush. Did not like to see those odds, but at least everything turned out OK at the end – everyone got their fill. A happy ending. Thanks for sharing with us.
For one lioness to charge that many hyenas, quite incredible.
Thanks for taking us right into the scene – and living that “wild life” alongside you and the guests. Very exciting and real….
Wow, that’s incredible!!! It’s not often you see a lone lioness stand up to 15 hyenas!!! Normally 4/5 hyenas can chase off a lioness.
Thanks James! I just love hearing about the Tsalala lioness and her cub. I am part of a cheerleading squad that wants them to succeed so badly.
Hooray for the lions!!!!! Victoria
She is my hero, that one.
Amazing sighting. Great video.
Incredible! I turned the volume right up on the video and felt I was back at Londolozi – thanks, James.
It seems like the lioness in this situation is driven off when there are enough hyenas to surround her, and attack her undefended rump. That’s why she sits down at one point before running. I’ve seen the same scenario in other video even of a big male lion, that if there are enough hyenas to occupy the jaws and paws that others can attack from the rear, the lion will scarper. What the exact biomass equation is to that effect I don’t know … sheer numbers for sure!
This girl is beyond amazing-