Chris Gonsalves is a travel enthusiast, but none of his trips could have prepared him for the safari sighting he filmed during his recent trip to Chobe National Park.
Chobe is famous for its lion sightings, and Chris happened to be visiting an area with the rumored super pride: the Serondela Lion Pride. With so many mouths to feed, these lions are known to target large game!
Some of the pride members had been spotted on the road earlier in the day, so the ranger decided to head in that direction. Little did anyone realize what sighting they were heading towards…
Searching for lions is always exciting, and it didn’t take long to find them. What no one expected to see was what they found with the lions. Everything about the sighting could have been typical, it was a few lions relaxing in the shade, and some cubs playing with a log. What was not typical was the giraffe standing right in the middle of them!
The giraffe had clearly been chased to the point of exhaustion, as it was just inches away from the closest lions, and frozen to the spot. The lionesses, who had done all the chasing, were tired too, and knowing the giraffe wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry, they decided to rest right next to it.
Peace didn’t last long, and it was back to action as soon as the lions had caught their breath! One of the lionesses snuck behind the giraffe while it was distracted and launched herself onto its rump. Panic set in immediately, and with its last bit of energy, the giraffe flung the lioness off and made a dash for it.
Lions are coordinated, and as soon as one was flung off, the others were right on the giraffe’s tail. Before the giraffe could even run a few meters, another lion jumped on its back, this time going for the neck! The lion didn’t get a strong enough grip, and with a flick of its neck, the giraffe shook it off.
The giraffe was desperate at this point. It tried kicking to get the pride away, but its feet were shaky, and it was trembling. The same lioness that targeted its neck managed to climb the giraffe again, this time getting a decent grip. So it came as a surprise when the giraffe managed to buckle her off again! But that took the very last that it had!
The giraffe’s legs were crumbling, and it couldn’t help itself from collapsing to the ground. It had sadly reached the end of the road, and the lions wasted no time finishing the job.
Lion Rides Giraffe to Bring it Down
Didn’t expect that outcome. I guess that shows how important it is for an animal to not get separated from it’s herd even for such a large creature as a giraffe.
was it already injured? i didn’t see anything that should have done devastating harm to the giraffe to the point where it wouldn’t be able to stand up anymore.
