Two lionesses had been hanging around a particular stretch of river for a couple of days and not having much hunting success. Eventually one afternoon, they managed to kill a male Waterbuck which would have sustained them for a couple of days.
However, as darkness fell, scavenging crocodiles had other ideas and began emerging from the water to share the lions’ feast. One lioness moved off quickly, apparently spooked by the crocs, but the other lioness hung around and tried to protect the kill. But the crocs were persistent and she couldn’t chase them away, so she began dragging the carcass away from them. But they kept coming…
Eventually, a bizarre stalemate ensued with crocs feeding on one side of the carcass, and a lioness on the other. There were regular snarls and snapping from both sides, but no contact between the predators.
After a while, a hippo wandered over to have a look at the situation, apparently attracted by the smell of partly digested grass that had been in the Waterbuck’s stomach and guts. After sniffing for a couple of minutes, he began to eat the decomposing grass! Certainly the first time I’d seen that, but hippos are pretty hungry at this time of year.
