When we think of lions hunting, it’s easy to imagine them melting into waist-high grass before erupting in a coordinated ambush. Cover is everything, or so I often tell my guests…
One particular sighting reminded me that nature has little regard for our neatly packaged explanations.
We had found four members of the Mhangeni Pride spread across an open clearing. There was one experienced lioness accompanied by three sub-adults, roughly two and a half years old. Ahead of them stood a lone wildebeest bull. The odds appeared stacked against the lions.
The clearing consisted of two isolated bushes, so I thought there was nowhere to hide. Three of the lions had positioned themselves behind one of the bushes to the east, while the one other lay concealed behind the second bush some twenty metres to the west. From above, the scene would have resembled a scalene triangle, with the wildebeest unknowingly occupying the centre.
Initially, the bull wandered away from the lions, seemingly bringing the hunt to an anticlimactic end. Then, for reasons known only to him, he slowed, turned, and began walking back. The atmosphere changed instantly. Each lion flattened itself even lower with every step the wildebeest took. Eventually, as he lowered his head to feed, the moment presented itself.
Much like these lions.
One of the young lions launched first. It was an ambitious effort rather than a polished one, which to me looked like a now-or-never chance. The wildebeest reacted with astonishing speed, lifting its head and quite literally throwing the young lion out of the air before it could establish a grip.
Had the hunt depended on that individual alone, the story would likely have ended there. But that single leap had achieved exactly what it needed to. For a fraction of a second, the bull hesitated. That pause was all the experienced lioness required. She burst from behind her bush, joined almost immediately by the remaining two sub-adults. Together they crashed into the wildebeest’s shoulder and back, using their combined momentum to unbalance the much larger animal before bringing it to the ground. Within moments, the lioness had secured her suffocating grip while the younger lions held on, learning firsthand the value of teamwork over individual strength.
Watching the scene unfold, I realised I’d been guilty of oversimplifying lion hunting. Yes, cover undoubtedly improves their chances. Long grass, drainage lines and dense thickets all tip the odds in their favour. But lions are not successful predators simply because they have good hiding places. They succeed because they adapt. They read one another, anticipate movement, exploit hesitation and, perhaps most importantly, understand that every individual plays a role.
The young male’s failed leap wasn’t a failure at all. It was the catalyst. Without it, the wildebeest may never have paused. Without that hesitation, the lioness may never have found her opening. Predators don’t always need perfect conditions. Sometimes they simply need a fleeting opportunity, and the instinct to recognise it before it disappears.
It was the first successful lion hunt I’ve seen, and wow, was I shocked. The strategic movements we often read about and see on television played right in front of my eyes. Who knows when that will ever happen again …
What an encounter. Thanks Dean for the wonderful perspective you have extrapolated for us.
Hi Dean, that was one experience you will not forget quickly. I am sure it was also a shock to realize that lion’s can hunt even if there is not a lot of cover. There strategy is remarkable and each member has a part to play to bring the animal down. Thank you for sharing this remarkable encounter with us.
Hi Dean, the wildebeest in the lone photo looks a calf, then the lionesses suffocate a bull you can see clearly it’s an adult . Raw beauty of the wilderness . I’ve always admired the tactics of the lionesses while hunting, especially the leader coordination. I like wildebeest. They are often underestimated, as ,”ugly” (certainly we can’t apply Phidian beauty traits to animals!) ,stupid and weak, while they are all the opposite. Very well written blog, thanks
What a special experience.
I think the strategy lions use is the most interesting part of any hunt, whether it’s successful or not. To watch them plan and calculate how to act is really fascinating.
Thanks Dean for your detailed account of this seemingly, unlikely lion hunt. It’s so true that just when you think you know what the outcome will be, in this case the element of surprise and an experienced lioness, provided a fantastic meal for her and the subadults.
Dean, what an astonishing experience for you and your guests that all of you will never forget.
Hi LGR. Thank you so much for putting up such a fascinating and great blog that you put up yesterday, featuring 4 members of the elusive Mhangeni pride, one adult lioness and 3 inexperienced sub adults watching and hunting a long large adult male wildebeest in a huge open area. It certainly wasn’t the wildebeest’s lucky day as the lions soon had him down and pinned to the ground and suffocated to avoid the pain of been eaten alive. Unfortunately for him, there was no second chance of escaping to count his lucky stars as the pretty hungry lions soon had him for their meal.
Although the pride is ten memembers strong and consists of three experienced adult lionesses, three sub adults and four cubs, three boys and one girl of about six months old, but whilst one lioness is the mother of the four young cubs, but I don’t know if any of the other two adult lionesses of the pride are also looking very heavily pregnant with several new cubs well on their way at all or not.
It’ll be so interesting to see how big the pride gets and grows to in the next few months or so, should anymore new cubs arrive to get and to swell and rebuild the pride’s old former numbers back up to what they once were several years ago. If anymore cubs do arrive, I think it is fair to say the pride will be at it’s biggest it’s been for quite a long period of time if the pride males can maintain their land.
Maybe the very next time yourself the whole Mhangeni pride altogether there, I hope you’ll be able to tell me if any of the other lionesses are pregnant at all or not. How long do you think the Nkuhuma 2016 and Talamati males have been in charge of and dominant over the fairly small Mhangeni pride altogether for now in total? I know one of the two oddly matched males, bearing in mind they’re not related, is the biological father of the 4 young cubs currently. I don’t know if they are or not, but it’ll be good and nice if they’re both mating with the two other adult pride lionesses of the Mhangeni pride, in a effort to produce quite a few more cubs together.
I’ve got no idea if they enjoyed their meal in peace or if they were joined by the other missing members of the pride, but it would have undoubtedly lasted the lions or the entire pride a good couple of days or so. Wouldn’t it? With so much meat on the carcass, I would think there was very little squabbling over it all. I hope hyenas didn’t arrive to claim it all and chase the lions of and away after they spent so much effort stalking and catching that large hefty meal of meat. But all in all, a fascinating blog indeed.
Hope to hear from you shortly.
Robert 17.7.26
What a breathtaking series of events to experience! Your story reminded me of a documentary I once saw that graphically portrayed the triangulation that lions often use to hunt – and you saw it! Thanks for sharing the experience!