See the Struggle to Survive in the Savanna as a Zebra Shakes Off Lethal Attacks from a Pride of Lions

Despite working as a team, this pride of lions is struggling to bring down a determined zebra. Zebras do not simply give in to lions. They are willing to race away and are surprisingly hard to bring to the ground. Whilst it’s true that a pride of lions has a much greater chance of success that a lion hunting alone, there is no guarantee of a meal at the end of this encounter. As the video at the bottom of this page shows, lions have to work hard to secure a prey such as the zebra.

Is This Normal Behavior for a Zebra?

Yes! Zebras are herbivores and are a highly desirable prey animal for lions so they are used to trying to get away.  They are also hunted by lions and spotted hyenas although it would take quite a large hyena pack to take an adult zebra down. Their other predators are cheetahs, leopards and African wild dogs although these hunters tend to target foals rather than adult zebras. If a Nile crocodile gets the opportunity to grab at a zebra, at a watering hole or river crossing for example, then they certainly will!

How Zebras Escape Predators

With all of these predators to worry about, the zebra has developed some pretty impressive anti-predator behaviors. Firstly, the group forms strong associations and will stand their ground to protect one another. A group of zebras is sometimes referred to as a ‘dazzle’. It is easy to see how a predator could get disorientated. All those stripes charging around in front of their eyes is confusing! However, in the encounter captured in this clip, the zebra seems to have become isolated.

When attacked by predators, zebras will kick back with their hooves. They have powerful hind legs and they can cause serious injuries to a lion’s soft flesh. Stallions and mother zebras protecting foals are the most vicious.

Finally, zebras are not slow. They can reach 43 miles per hour when they need to and have great stamina. Therefore, they can outrun many predators!

See the Impressive Footage Below