大象传媒

Lions are social hunters. They are the biggest and heaviest hunters on the African plains.

They live in groups of about 15 though prides of over 30 have been known. They are not as fast as cheetah and can only manage 35 miles per hour. This means that out in the open zebras will not get caught if they have a big enough headstart.

To stand a chance of catching them the lions need to get close then rely on their spectacular acceleration.

In this scene, therefore, a lioness stalk the zebra first, keeping low in the long grass.

The zebras see her and run, but they head towards other pride members hidden in the grass. Together the lions give chase and one leaps on the zebra. As she can not subdue it on her own, the rest of the pride soon arrive. Now there is food for all of them.

When hunting as a pride, about one in three chases are successful but lionesses can also hunt on their own.

As solitary hunts are only successful one time out of five, scavenging from other hunters, such as hyenas, is much easier. A lion can chase off hyenas if there are only a few of them.

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