Watch This Resilient Buffalo Complete the Comeback of the Year and Fend Off 4 Hungry Lions

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Fighting with someone your own size is a saying that applies to the animal kingdom just as much as it does to us as humans. We see amazing odds happen in the wild, however. And when we think of lions, we typically think of them as invincible due to the status they have received as king of the jungle.

However, even the king of the jungle has his limits. Fighting against a giant cape buffalo would be the lion’s limit. One-on-one, the lion would surely be defeated based on size alone. Let’s pause for a moment and find how the sizes of the lion and the cape buffalo before we dive into what happened in this video posted below.

How Big are Cape Buffalos?

The cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a buffalo that is often confused with the water buffalo. However, the cape buffalo size can sometimes be double the size of the water buffalo. 

Coming in at 1,323-2,000 pounds, the cape buffalo is a very heavy animal that roams the plains of Africa. He also can grow to be 51-67 inches tall and 67-96 inches in length. 

How Big is the King of the Jungle?

The lion (Panthera leo), more commonly referred to as the king of the jungle, is not to be taken lightly. Despite the fact they weigh much less than buffalo, they still can pack quite a powerful punch.

Lions are approximately 264-550 pounds and reach 4.7-8.2 feet long. They are often found in open woodlands and grasslands in the plains of Africa. 

This next video takes us to the Masai Mara in Kenya, Africa, where three grown lions have taken down a cape buffalo. As we said at the beginning, one lion would not be enough to take down a cape buffalo alone; however, there is safety in numbers. And these lions knew to work together.

Only, just as they are trying to complete the kill, a group of hyenas comes budging in to see what all the ruckus is about. The lions knew they could not watch out for their own safety and take down the buffalo too. So, they release the buffalo from their grips so they can stand at attention in case the hyenas attack.

The cape buffalo uses this opportunity and quickly runs away so as not to be the meal for either of these predators.

How Large Are Adult Buffalo?

African and domesticated water buffalo are quite large, although they are not as large as the American Bison, for which they are often confused. Both species of buffalo can reach heights around five feet and weigh upward of 1800 pounds.