These Lions Show Just How Easy It Is To Take Down a Gigantic Buffalo

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Few animals in the wild animal kingdom would have the bravery to attempt to take down a buffalo. The African buffalo are powerful creatures in size, power, and speed. However, if there is one animal that is courageous enough to go after the African buffalo, it is the lion. As we can see from the video above, this buffalo was not about to go down without a fight.

Lions Hunting Buffalo in Africa

The YouTube that can be viewed at the top of this blog post takes us to the Maasai Mara. The Maasai Sightings YouTube page reposted this video to their 628,000+ subscribers. They are avid supporters of sharing footage of Africa’s Big Five: the buffalo, lion, leopard, black rhinoceros, and African elephant. 

One Easy Take Down

As the video above comes into focus for us, we see an entire caravan of safari jeeps have stopped. They are on the wide open plains of the Maasai Mara. They catch the sight of a lone lion that is hunting an African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). 

We know from research that it is the responsibility of the female lion to hunt for pride. And it is the responsibility of the male lion to protect his pride. However, this does not mean that male lions never hunt on their own. According to a study completed on hunting by male lions, they have this to say. “Male lions, Panthera leo, acquire most of their food by hunting rather than scavenging.”

And this male lion was determined to take this buffalo down no matter the cost. We can see the nervousness on this buffalo’s face when he realizes the lion is close. He looks back to stare this lion down. Suddenly, he assumes his only course of action is to attack. And the lion stumbles down. 

However, what this buffalo didn’t know was that this lion wasn’t alone. A second male lion charged in and jumped on top of this buffalo, taking it down in one hit. Showing off his apex predator status.

What Is An Apex Predator?

Oregon State University describes an apex predator as “a term used to denote their elevated position on the trophic ladder.” Depending on what research you look at, there are various animals that might come up as apex predators. Animals such as tigers, Burmese pythons, Komodo dragons, wolves, polar bears, and crocodiles. 

These hunters are referred to as the apex predators of their territories. The lion, that lives in Africa can easily be referred to as the apex predators of the African savanna. As we can see from the video above, these lions showed how easy it was to take this buffalo down.