These Hyenas Ambush a Massive Wildebeest in the Middle of the Night

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Seeing what life is like in the wild is an awesome experience that can only be truly described by seeing it in person. Many videos that come to us from African YouTube channels, like the one shown above, share real footage of what life is like during the day. However, life in Africa doesn’t stop once the sun goes down. And this video shares the raw truth of what happens in the middle of the night. 

Hungry Hyenas Hunt At Night

The YouTube video at the top of the blog post brings us to the plains of Africa. The footage shows a group of hungry hyenas hunting in the dead of night. The Incredible Wild Animals Sighting Channel shared this video on their platform. Their recent content shown within the last few days is of a lioness attacking a zebra, a mother giraffe defending her young, and lions attacking a buffalo herd. 

Wildebeest Attacked in the Dead of Night

As the video above starts out, we see a small pack of wild hyenas that are feasting on a wildebeest. Hyena packs are capable of reaching up to 100 members in some cases, according to Harvard University. 

We may think they have already done the hard work of tracking down this mammal and attacking it. However, the work really has only just begun. Despite the number of these hyenas, taking down an animal of this size is no easy task. 

The pack works together, and they start attacking the wildebeest from every angle. This wildebeest was able to summon his inner strength and pull himself away, dragging the six hyenas that were there with him away a few feet.

Can a Hyena Take Down a Wildebeest?

Wildebeest can weigh upwards of 600 pounds and reach 4.5 feet tall. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, “They have a large, box-like head with curving horns. The front end of their body is heavily built, while the hindquarters are slender with spindly legs.” Taking this into consideration with the hyena, who only weighs up to 190 pounds and reaches up to 65 inches in length, this wildebeest sure does have an edge.

One-on-one, the hyena would not be able to take this mammal down. The hyenas in the video above know this, which is why we can see them going straight for those spindly legs. Predators are able to adapt to not only their surroundings but of the best ways to hunt the animals they want. In the case of the video above, these hyenas knew to 1.) hunt in a pack and 2.) go straight for the weak spot.