These Lions Launch a Coordinated Attack Against a Zebra

Continue reading for our analysis...

Many predators in the wild are solitary hunters. Animals like snow leopards and polar bears don’t rely on anyone but themselves in order to survive. However, other animals, such as African wild dogs and hyenas, rely on the groups that they form to successfully hunt for food and to find shelter. Let’s see what happens when a pair of lions work together to hunt for food. 

Lions Hunting for Food

The YouTube short video clip shown at the top of this blog post takes us to Africa, where a pair of lions are out hunting. The Mellownizz YouTube page shared this video with their 41,000+ subscribers. The short clips they share are of leopards, antelopes, and giraffes. 

Zebra Running For It’s Life

When the video above starts out we see a car has stopped on this one-way dirt road because a zebra is seen grazing on the side of the road. And a lioness directly behind the zebra is slowly inching her way up. Her golden brown fur is the perfect cover for the clay-covered landscape that Africa has to offer. 

The lioness pounces, and the zebra is alerted. The zebra runs for its life, going up to speeds of 40 miles per hour. However, the lioness, with her ability to run up to short bursts of 50 miles per hour is able to quickly catch up to the zebra and tackle this mammal to the ground. While the battle may seem to be won, the zebra is a much larger animal than the lion and can often hold the upper hand with the force to get away. 

Zebras can easily weigh up to 1,000 pounds, whereas lions only weigh up to 550 pounds. And the lioness, as the hunter, usually only weighs up to 250 pounds. But, suddenly, another lioness comes from the other direction and swoops in to help this lioness completely subdue their prey. 

Are Zebras Solitary Animals?

Zebras (Equus quagga) are sociable animals that live in a herd. These herds can grow to several hundred individuals. The zebra in the video above could have likely departed from the herd in search of food or water. Or he could have been a mature stallion that will often be found by themselves.

Zebras are herbivores that feast on shrubs, bark, and grass. As we saw from the video above, the zebra was grazing. However, what was it eating? Everything surrounding the zebra seemed very dry. According to The Humane Society of the United States, zebras “help the local ecosystem by grazing on dry, hardened grass that is too tough for other species.”

Those zebra who separate from the protection of their herds are very susceptible to attacks from predators such as leopards, hyenas, African wild dogs, and lions. As we can see from the video posted above, these lions knew how to work together to be successful in an accomplished hunt.