As if sharing your dinner ten ways wasn’t challenging enough, South Africa’s wild dogs also have to be prepared to defend their kill from other hungry contenders. This intense dog fight was captured by tourists in the Kruger National Park, when two hyenas came in for the steal.
It’s not uncommon for spotted hyenas to move in on wild dogs – they’re much bigger and hardier than the smaller pack hunters – but in this case, the pair simply took on more than they could chew.
The hyenas were reportedly nowhere to be seen during the hunt, but wild dogs are notoriously noisy (as you can hear), and their communal calls often attract other predators after the fact.
“The most often heard vocalisation is what we call a rallying call,” head of the specialist safari division Marc Lindsay Rae told Latest Sightings, who uploaded the clip. “It’s the high pitched twittering you hear in this video. They use it for a number of reasons. Before the hunt, when they greet each other, when there are pups about, and of course, when there is another predator around trying to steal their kill.”
Hyenas are more closely related to cats, but like dogs, they’re incredibly social animals and work together when need be. In fact, they’ve even out-performed chimpanzees in cooperative problem-solving tests! In the end though, the dogs’ safety-in-numbers strategy proved most useful, and the unwanted robbers moved along … a little worse for wear.