Quick Take
- Two male lions in South Africa are caught on video trying to flush a warthog from its burrow, offering a rare, close-up look at predator-prey behavior in Kruger National Park.
- The warthog’s dramatic escape shows why burrows are such an important survival tool, giving these animals a hidden refuge from predators like lions.
- Beyond this one tense moment, the story highlights what makes warthogs so resilient: they use burrows strategically, adapt well to their environment, and can run fast enough to improve their odds of escape.
When we think of a night out in town, we immediately think of going out to have fun. Perhaps this is our version of stopping by the local bingo spot, grabbing the best pizza in town, or taking the family to the movies. Well, in the wild, an animal’s version of a night out on the town is just a tad different. They can’t exactly order a large stuffed-crust cheese pizza. Don’t miss the action in the video above, where these lion brothers go out on the town!
Lion Brothers Sighted in Kruger National Park
The YouTube video shown at the top of this blog post takes us to Kruger National Park in South Africa. This is where tourists filmed two male lions investigating a burrow, apparently trying to flush out prey. The Maasai Sightings YouTube page shared this video on their channel,
These Lions Are Hunting for Prey
At the start of the video, tourists stop after spotting two male lions just ahead of them. One of the lion’s heads is deep underground, which is an odd sight to see. However, they aren’t just there to play whack-a-mole. These lions are hunting for warthogs.
According to the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, “To stay cool, warthogs will spend time in burrows, which they often steal from aardvarks, or wallow in a mud hole.” In addition to staying cool, these warthogs try to stay hidden from predators such as the lions hunting them.
After a while, the lion doing the digging lifts his head out of the burrow opening, apparently unable to pull the warthog out. The second lion stays nearby but does not appear to do much of the digging. At around the 44-second mark, a warthog suddenly bursts from the burrow and escapes before the lions can catch it.
Are Warthogs Intelligent?
Warthogs can weigh up to 300 pounds.
©Rudi Hulshof/Shutterstock.com
Although warthogs use burrows for shelter, they spend much of their time above ground foraging and moving across the savanna. However, being cute isn’t a requirement for being intelligent.
The San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants reminds us that warthogs “are remarkable for their strength, intelligence, and flexibility!” These animals are impressive in their ability to adapt to their surroundings and use burrows as shelter and protection, as the video above suggests.
Warthogs are also fast runners and can reach about 30 miles per hour, which can help them evade predators in some situations.
