Tourists on Safari Learn Why You Never Honk at a Lion

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Honking captures the attention of other drivers and scares wild animals out of the road.

Most animals prefer to run away at the sound of a horn rather than stay around and find out whether the sound implies danger. Not all animals are startled by a car horn.  Your honk will undoubtedly capture the attention of a lion, but the sound is not enough to scare away the king of the jungle in his territory.

A tourist recently learned that honking at a lion is a bad idea. The sound irritated and aggravated the animals, causing them to chase after the car. Luckily, the tourists who honked and captured the footage on video were in a car and managed to escape from the agitated lion.

Lions Have Sensitive Ears That Can Capture Sounds Miles Away

The king of the jungle is engineered to rule. His sense of hearing is particularly good and is enhanced by the big cat’s movable ears, which he adjusts to pinpoint a sound source. 

Lions prefer to stalk and surprise their prey and pounce on them before they can think of getting away. They rely heavily on their ears to stalk prey that may have been obscured from view by vegetation. 

However, since many of their prey have good vision, lions have evolved to survive in the jungle. They have rounded ears with shaggy fur, which helps to enhance their camouflage during hunting. In addition, their ears have dark markings that allow them to track each other’s position while hunting through the tall savannah grass. Knowing each other’s position helps the lions coordinate their hunting and improve their chances of scoring a successful kill.

An excellent sense of hearing is also essential to a lioness to differentiate a lion’s roar from that of a fellow lioness. A lioness can hear and avoid aggressive males that may endanger her cubs.

As the apex predator, few animals can endanger their young. However, cape dogs and spotted hyenas would not hesitate to kill unguarded cubs. Good hearing allows the guarding mothers to hear the approaching predators without moving or giving away their location.

Consequently, a lion can hear sounds made a mile away.

Given its keen sense of hearing, a honking sound must sound loud to a lion. No wonder the lions in the video get irritated and investigate the source of the nuisance.

More than one lion chases the car, meaning they are not just curious: they are hunting at the same time.

How Much Do Lions Eat?

Lions are carnivores who hunt other mammals like zebras, antelopes, wildebeest, and wild hogs. Lions are big eaters who can consume a quarter of their body weight in one meal. That is about 40 kg (88 lbs) of meat!

The lion lifestyle seems to demand those big meals. They spend up to 22 hours a day sleeping and just lazing around in the shade. Lions are affectionate and often groom each other during their resting periods. When they get hungry, the lionesses get up and spend two or three hours hunting together before hauling in a big feast for the pride. They gorge themselves on so much food that they don’t have to eat for days, then lie back down in the shade.

Can Lions Attack Humans in a Car?

The simple answer is yes, although this happens rarely. Lions will hunt humans when given a chance. They will go after a human when they are starving.

A few cases have been reported involving a lion lunging through an open window and causing fatal injuries to people in a car. 

So, next time you are in the park, remember to avoid honking at a lion, maintain a safe distance, and keep your windows rolled up.