Lions vs Buffalo At A Tsavo Waterhole

The two lioness take the large buffalo head on.
Photo by Shazaad Kasmani

It all began one Saturday at a waterhole in Tsavo East. A pride of 7 lions who had made a buffalo kill earlier that morning were comfortably enjoying their meal and in usual fashion, they decided to scatter into the bushes to hide from the morning sun for the rest of the day.

Having studied the behavior of lions for a few years now, I knew that the lions would return for water and also finish their meal later on in the evening.

We decided to position ourselves atop of a hill and patiently waited with the hopes of catching the sequence from above... as evening came, and as predicted, the lions came out from hiding for a drink... in the distance however a lone buffalo was walking straight into the path of the drinking lions.
Unable to see the pride the buffalo kept approaching, but the lions on the other hand spotted their unsuspecting prey and started getting into formation...

Two lionesses took to the flanks while another two crouched low in the path of the walking buffalo.

When the time was right, the cats at the rear flanks burst into action taking the buffalo by surprise! The old buffalo fled to evade the grasps of the two approaching lioness that were now hot on its tail... but it was running in the direction of the other two lioness that were still crouched ahead... in a matter of seconds the crouching lionesses arose and met with the fleeing buffalo head on... it looked like its fate was sealed.

To the luck of the buffalo however, the instinct of the chase seemed stronger than the urge to eat.

Having already made a kill that morning and eating to their fill, the lions did not wish to risk injury to themselves with the likes of an old experienced bull like this one. They possibly preferred to use the golden opportunity and sharpen their hunting techniques for the next real meal.

The bull also having sensed this, built up its confidence and easily chased of the attacking pride.