Currently, I am on a predator quest. At any camp I arrive at, my first question is always, “What have your predator sightings been like”?
Followed by, “What is the Wi-Fi password”?
I have to get my priorities right.
International visitors are usually impressed by the size of the female of this species. Given that they are responsible for the majority of the hunting, it would make sence that size does matter.
For those interested in stats…
An African lioness weighs in at 120 to 180 kg, and stands around 1,1m at the shoulder. Their head-and-body length (excluding the tail) ranges from 1.4 to 1.8 meters.
In comparison, males weigh 190-250 kg, stand 1.2m at the shoulder, and have a body length of 1.8-2.1 m.
I had to wait for a while before this lioness produced the next series of shots.
If you think that their overall size is impressive, their canines are 7 to 10 centimetres and are utilised for holding and tearing their prey.
Not something you want to get close enough to measure in this situation.
This is the full arsenal on display.
Who needs Weapons of Mass Destruction when you are equipped with a set like this?
Each type of tooth has a specific purpose:
These small teeth at the front of the mouth are used for gripping and tearing meat.
The four large, sharp canines are crucial for hunting. They pierce and grip the prey, helping to deliver a fatal bite, and are also used for tearing away meat.
Located at the back of the mouth, these sharp, scissor-like teeth are used for cutting meat.
Being carnivores, their teeth are adapted for tearing and ripping. And they are good at that!
Lions, when hunting as a pride, tend to be successful in fewer than 30% of their attempts.
With single lions, it can drop as low as 19%.
Being felines, they have similar traits to the domestic cats we have at home.
They spend a lot of time sleeping and grooming. And the interplay between adults and the youngsters can be fun to observe.
But when there is work to be done, it is undertaken fearlessly.
We found the same pride the following day on an Impala carcass.
I know what you are thinking. An Impala is not sufficient for 7 hungry lions; however, lions are opportunistic hunters, and this particular Impala might have stumbled into the pride by accident.
Or it could have been injured. Either way, an opportunity presented itself, and the predators took advantage.
This is the face of superiority.
She has done her job, and done it well.
To the victor, the spoils, even if it is only an Impala.
I left the pride still feeding on what was left of the carcass. All I could see was the eye, as the lion had taken its meal into a thicket that was not conducive to photography.
There is a strange stillness that settles over you as you sit with a pride of lions devouring the remains of an impala. The sounds are primal — bones crunching, low growls rumbling, and yet, amid the violence, there’s a profound beauty.
The impala’s death is not senseless; it sustains the pride, feeds the young, and strengthens the bloodline.
In this raw exchange, I was reminded that the African bush doesn’t moralise, it balances. Death, here, is not an end, but a necessary offering in the rhythm of survival.
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