In the human world, we can get away with saying “Pick on someone your own size”, but in the animal world, it’s fair game. If a predator can bring it down, no matter the size, they’ll go in for the kill. This is exactly the case when a pride of lions tries to take down a huge giraffe. However, the giraffe doesn’t give in without a fight and kicks the lions to defend itself!
Thokozani Phakathi visited the Kruger and sent us his footage of a pride of lions trying to take down a giraffe. He told LatestSightings.com the story:“He never would have thought that he’d see anything like this with his own eyes until he did!”
“We were driving south on the H4-2, on our way back from Crocodile Bridge Camp when we spotted a giraffe being held hostage by a pride of approximately 8 lionesses. We stopped to see how the hunt would play out. They made several attempts to bring down the giraffe, but it was firing killer kicks from hell!”
Giraffe Kicks Lions To Defend Itself
“The lions were very cautious and didn’t want to risk injury or death. Particularly because they were all females and the fact that lionesses are usually the ones to secure a meal. This makes them a valuable asset to the pride. It seems that part of their strategy was to exhaust the giraffe and finish the business after dark. Taking advantage of their good night vision. Waiting for the males to get back from their patrolling duties would help as they could add their strong muscle and hefty bodies.”
“The lions were taking turns in harassing, scaring, and exhausting the giraffe for a few minutes. As each lioness had her turn, they’d lay down and pant for a while and then start the process all over. This process insured that there was no escape route for the giraffe as they lay in solid walls around it. We could only count up to 8 lions as they were scattered all around and in between the thickets of the bush.”
“Unfortunately, due to gate time, we had to abandon the breath-taking sighting and never saw the final outcome. It was an absolute thrill to witness how lions coordinate and deploy their strategy to intimidate, frustrate and exhaust their potential prey. I’d normally see such events on National Geographic, but I never even had the thought that I would see something like this with my naked eye.”
–WATCH—
“It’s memorable sightings like these that make Kruger National Park such a special place and the ultimate safari adventure destination in South Africa!”
