These timely photos depict one of the rarest moments in the animal kingdom when the predator has become the prey. A game ranger: Lyle Gregg captured the exact moments when a lion, the ferocious king of the jungle was crushed to death by a dauntless herd of 300 buffaloes.
This took place at the Kruger National Park South Africa where Lyle had spotted the lion that later became the victim during his early morning ride across the park.
The helpless lion was crushed to death by the persistent stampede of a herd of buffaloes. The lion had earlier been forced out of his pride and was resting quietly in the grass, however, an exasperated group of buffaloes were on his trail. The herd had spotted the lone lion after they picked up his scent in the National Park.
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Whether the herd of buffaloes decided to make the lone lion a “scapegoat” and take out all their grievances for previous attacks on their species or that they wanted to send a message to the big cats remains known only to this herd of buffaloes.
The lion made effort to hide from the advancing herd of buffaloes among the long grasses however, there was a change in wind direction which allowed the Buffaloes to pick up his scent and started going after the big cat.
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As the stampede moved closer, the lion attempted to make a run for it however, he was injured from a previous fight over a pride so he was too slow and had to pay with his life as the relentless stampede jumped on his head, gored his body and crushed him to death.
See the dramatic photos below which show that a lion that is a member of a pride is as powerful as the pride otherwise, it can be taken down by its lunch.
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The African Buffalo
Owing to its unpredictable nature, which makes it highly dangerous to humans, the African buffalo has never been domesticated, unlike its Asian counterpart, the water buffalo. Other than humans, buffaloes have few predators and are capable of defending themselves against lions. Buffaloes are not tolerance of lone predators like this unlucky old king of the jungle. What makes these herds fearsome is their unpredictable levels of aggression, coupled with an apparent lack of any emotion. In other words, the buffalo is a master of concealing its intentions, thus the unknowing lion fell victim of these poker players.
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Although lion does kill and eat buffalo regularly, in some regions, the buffaloes are the lions’ primary prey. But it typically takes several lions to bring down a single adult buffalo, usually, the entire pride joins the hunt. Several incidents have also been reported in which a lone adult male lion has been able to successfully bring down an adult animal.
Yes, buffaloes are just cows that lack aesthetic beauty, but the animals make up for it with its sheer aggression and freakish strength. It is known that herds of buffalo can reach over 1000 individuals and because of this, they do not hold territories due to their constant need to graze and dependency on water. The animals’ constant need to graze near waters also exposes them to other predators like the Cheetahs, Hyenas and Crocodiles. Yet buffaloes are notorious among big-game hunters as very dangerous animals, with wounded ones reported to ambush and attack pursuers – not to mention their tendency for a stampede.
The African Lion
When the African male lion gets older, its ability to catch up food becomes less then it seems to be useless in the family. This causes the young lions fight the older one and cast it away from the pride, then these young lions would take over and lead the family.
It is said that a lion is as strong as its pride, hence even the mighty king of the jungle without the support of its hunting pack is also venerable not only to the buffaloes or the elephants but also the hyenas.
