Hyena Clan Fearlessly Bullies a Lone Lioness From the Buffalo She Captured

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Lioness Gets Bullied Off Her Kill by a Bunch of Belligerent Hyena!

In the amazing video at the top of the page, a lioness gets teamed up on by a gang of hyenas. The lone lioness stands her ground as the video opens to three hyenas moving in on a buffalo she hunted. She continues to dig in, eating as if the unwelcome guest hadn’t just stormed her dinner table. The two rival species begin ripping off bits from opposite ends of the fallen buffalo. Although the lioness remains undaunted, additional cackling hyena comrades gradually tip the balance in intimidation. 

Three hyenas turn into five, then into seven, and the lioness is all at once outnumbered. As strong as the queen of the jungle is, she’s smart enough to know her limits. Feigning a small resistance, the lioness slams her sharp claws down on the buffalo as if laying her claim. But the hyenas completely call the lionesses bluff, and they don’t budge at all! In fact, one of the hyenas seems to be halfway inside of the buffalo carcass! Diving headfirst into the stolen prize.

The buffalo carcass appears incomplete; hence, there’s a good chance the lioness has already satisfied her hunger. Stopping while she is ahead, the lioness cedes the rest of the buffalo to the haggling hyenas. The hyenas concentrate on getting bites, avoiding any attempt to directly confront the lioness. Though capable of bullying her off the buffalo, they remain too cautious to directly confront the lioness. So the lioness can peacefully and calmly walk away, leaving the scene by herself. The jungle’s queen absent, anarchy ensues; hyenas squabble and scamper, claiming their stolen treasure.

How Many Hyenas Does It Take to Bully a Lioness? And How Many for a Male Lion?

Hyenas and lions are bitter rivals, with fights between the two species breaking out quite often. The longstanding rivalry has even made its way to the Disney animated universe with the henchmen hyenas in the Lion King. Individual battles between a single hyena and a single lion will never go in the hyena’s favor. Instead, hyenas will gang up on lions to use numbers to overpower them. Without a large numerical advantage, hyenas can’t even hope to challenge a lion. 

As we see in the video at the top of the page, even three hyenas isn’t enough to intimidate a lioness. But as more and more hyenas show up, the lioness realizes she’s got to run. Looking at other instances, there are usually a few more aggressive individuals among a hyena clan. These boisterous leaders are the ones that are first to challenge the lioness in the video at the top of the page, but they aren’t alone. 

Hyena clans can range from as small as a half-dozen to over 100 members! With these kind of numbers, getting ganged up on is a death sentence! So while a lioness would be able to deal with a few hyenas, if a lion gets completely cornered it can go badly! This applies to both lionesses and male lions, but in some instances a male lion will show his true strength! In one instance, a male lion ripped through 40 hyenas in a ridiculous display of dominance.