Enkoveni - Run baby, run (10)

The next couple of photos where all taken during one siting. A group of lions, three adult females and seven young lions set after a giraffe calf.

This was an amazing siting, even if we had experienced the brutality of nature. It was clear from the first moment, as we stumbled across this event in nature that the young one would not survive. This struggle would continue for more than two hours. This pack of lions had killed and devoured a buffalo the previous day and thus was not in immediate need for food. Yet the group decided to go for the young giraffe anyway. It was clear from the adult lions behaviour, staying in the back ground, that this was an opportunity for the younger lions to hon their hunting skills.

The mother of the young giraffe valiantly tried to protect the young one. The lions certainly had a healthy respect for the kicking ability of the giraffe and every time she turned around the lions scattered.

The lions clearly keeping a safe distance, however never losing their aura of control.

She tried to show the calf by example how to get away, unfortunately the calf’s speed was no match for the lions. It was amazing to see how this young giraffe picked up on her mother actions and started to kick with its front legs to chase the lions away.

One would have thought that lion instinctively knew how to hunt and kill. Even the king of nature still has to learn how to become an effective hunter. Countless times the young lions chased after the calf, tackling it to the ground without executing the lethal blow. Only after the older lion females decided that is was time to finish this and getting involved demonstrating how should be done, the calf was finally killed. There were a few times we thought, this must surely be it, that the calf got up again to our disbelief.

Eventually, after two hours of struggle, one of the older female lions went for the kill, ending the agony of the calf.

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