Experienced Lioness Uses the African Grass As Her Cover for Attack

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Lionesses have gained the experience of being some of the most successful hunters the wild has ever seen. Typically, when we think of the king of the jungle, we imagine male lions with their massive manes and powerful-looking bodies. However, the lionesses have taken on the role of hunting for their pride. And even though they are, generally speaking, about half the size of male lions, they are equally as powerful in their hunts. In the video above, let’s see how this lioness uses the grass to her advantage. 

Lioness Lying in Wait for Prey

The YouTube video displayed at the beginning of this blog post takes us to Africa. This is where a group of lionesses are seen hunting for food. The Incredible Wild Animals SIghtings YouTube page was sent this video and shared it with their followers. Based in Africa, this channel shares videos every week of what wildlife is like. They share videos of animals such as cheetahs, leopards, buffalos, birds of prey, snakes, Nile crocodiles, and much more. 

Piglet Ambushed by Lioness 

At the beginning of the video above, two lionesses are lounging in the grass after their hunt. It looks as though they have caught a mother warthog and are enjoying this feast. Suddenly, something catches the eye of the one lioness off in the distance. She stands at attention and searches to see where the movement is coming from. 

As she walks through the grass, we get a full view of how large this open field really is. Africa is filled with all kinds of grass, such as cat tail grass, common finger grass, creeping bristle grass, and fine thatching grass, to list a few.

As the lioness walks through, we see how high the grass is and that she’s almost completely covered. Fields like this are often referred to as seas of grass because of how vast it is. This experienced lioness uses the grass as her cover so she can sneak up on this warthog piglet that is running around, likely trying to find its mother. 

When Do Warthog Piglets Reach Maturity?

The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) reaches an age of maturity (often called sexual maturity) much faster than even lion cubs do. For the first 10 weeks of their lives, they rely heavily on their mother so they can suckle on them for milk. And by 20 months, which is not even two years, they are considered to be mature. 

Warthogs do not have the advantage of hunting with large prides as lions do (sometimes up to 30 members.) Instead, warthogs have smaller groups that are referred to as sounders that only consist of a few members. 

As omnivores, this group of sounders will teach their piglets how to forage for food such as grass, roots, and bulbs. They use their massive tusks that sit on their face to bring the roots up to eat. In addition to plant matter, they will also eat insects as well.