It’s Amazing How Well This Lion Blends Into The African Grass To Snatch This Buffalo

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The element of surprise is perhaps one of the greatest advantages that a predator in the wild can have. The prey that predators are hunting are sometimes larger and can run faster than they can. And so the only hope they have of a successful attack is in being able to get as close as possible. Don’t miss how close this lion was able to get to a pair of buffalo in the video above. 

Lions Hunting in the Maasai Mara

The YouTube video posted at the top of the blog takes us to Africa in the Maasai Mara. The Maasai Sightings YouTube page shared this film from either a tour guide or a tourist visiting. This channel shares exciting footage a few times a week. The animals they share are wildebeest, lions, buffalo, zebra’s, crocodiles, and giraffes. 

Buffalo’s Get a Surprise Attack

At the start of the video, we see the beauty of the wide-open plains that the Maasai Mara has to offer. A pair of massive buffalo are making their long trek across the conservation. Seemingly, without a care in the world, they have no clue they are actually being hunted right now. 

At 29 seconds, if we look in the right-hand portion of the screen, we can start to see a lion coming into view. This lion is blending into the African grass so well that he is hardly visible. According to the San Francisco Zoo, “A lion coat is light tawny yellow or buff with a white belly. The male has a mane that varies in color from light tawny to dark brown to black.” 

This lion’s tawny yellow fur allows him to get so close that the buffalo don’t have an opportunity to react once they realize they are in danger. The lion quickly cuts one buffalo away from the other. However, even after getting so close, the lion was still unsuccessful in taking the buffalo down. 

What Predators Hunt Buffalo?

Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a much-desired meal for African predators. Their weight of 2,000 pounds of meat is enough to not only feed a predator but also feed the pack they are often with. Buffalo have to worry about predators such as lions, hyenas, and crocodiles. There are even reports of elephants killing buffalo as well.

This is why buffalo will stick to their herds for the protection that numbers provide to them. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library shares that buffalo “Herds react to predators by bunching and confronting the predator with a solid mass of horns.” 

The danger is when a buffalo finds themselves alone and open to attack, as we saw in the video above. However, even in a one-on-one fight, buffalo are not easy animals to take down.