Watch a Lioness Attack an Alpha Male Over a Leopard

Experts agree that there is a certain etiquette when it comes to lions hunting. It is generally accepted that they are happy to co-operate during a hunt as that increases their chances of being successful. Male lions will hunt alone or as pairs or a small group. Female lionesses tend to hunt as a pride and it is normally them that do most of the hunting whilst the males sit and watch. Lions are not great at sharing what they eat and fights can break out once the prey has been caught. Usually, the lionesses will allow the males to eat first. Then they feed and finally the cubs have a go. The lioness in this clip, however, clearly didn’t get the memo! Or is something else going on here?

Lion and Lioness Battle It Out for a Leopard

This short clip begins with a male lion attacking a leopard that is lying on its back in the long grass. The lion is much bigger and towers over the smaller and slimmer leopard. The rest of the pride are pacing around watching the action. Then, a lioness launches herself at the lion and pushes him backwards and away from the leopard. As the male lions runs away, she turns sharply and delivers some warning roars towards two of her fellow females. We don’t get to see what happened to the leopard!

Relationship Between Lions and Leopards

Lions and leopards are both top predators at the apex of the food chain. As a rule, lions do not eat leopards. They are too much hassle to catch and their flesh is not that nutritious for a lion. It is a much better plan to hunt a large herbivore like buffalo or zebra. However, if a lion was starving, they would be prepared to eat a leopard.

These two species are, however, in competition with each other and so conflicts can arise. If the leopard had just caught some prey, the lions may be trying to get it off them and eat it themselves. The leopard, understandably, may not be very pleased about this. This may also explain the conflict amongst the lions. They often get into squabbles over food!

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