The Hunting Tail…..

The previous articles in this category I explained the different dynamics involved in a lion hunt. The different adaptations the lions evolved are all used to better the chances of killing large prey animals. We saw the sharp end of the hunt, the soft colouration of the camouflage and the teamwork amongst the lionesses. All theses special and unique adaptations must be kept on a tight lease and what is holding everything together is the tail.

The tail most important purpose is for communication. Hunting lions need to be deathly quite and communication to co-ordinate the hunt are achieved through signals from their tails. The next photo shows a lioness that was stressed because her cubs were to close to a game viewer vehicle. The lioness tail is swishing from side to side and is a clear indication that she is not happy with the closeness of the humans to her cubs.

The most dangerous situation in the African bush is a confrontation with a lioness with young cubs. The lioness will first warn the intruder with a low growl and the sideways movement of her tail. The rule of thumb is that the lioness will rather flee than fight, but if the intruder refuses to back-off; the lioness will prepare herself for a full charge. The tail will be jerked up and down and the charge is immanent.

The tail is also used for a more docile purpose. The lioness when walking through tall grass is almost invisible and the tail acts as a beacon for the cubs to follow. This black tipped tail is also the source of amusement for the cubs and the young lions will spend lots off time attacking this fast-moving appendix.

In the hunt the tail will come in to its own only in the last moment before the killing bite. Most of the prey animals depend on agility and speed to out manoeuvre the lioness. The tail acts like a rudder for the lioness when she has to do sharp turns when chasing light-footed prey. The next photo the reader can see the importance of the tail and how it keeps the lioness upright and on course with the prey animal.

Well, the warthog the lioness was chasing in this photo didn’t make it, there was nowhere to run too and the hunt was successfully completed. It started only minutes ago and the lightning fast happenings give me only seconds to capture these images. I have whiteness countless killings and some times I wonder, why the bloodshed, is there a less violent alternative. The answer lies in the next photo.

The bloody death of the warthog gave the two lion cub’s nutrients’ to survive and to grow into formidable hunting machines. Until the day arrives when these two super cats makes their first kill, they must depend on the lioness that evolved all these adaptations just to secure her own species survival.

Rangerriaan

Ferocious Fangs….

The combination between sharp claws, excellent camouflage and unique arrangement of teeth makes the lion an efficient killing machine.   Lions will take any opportunity to kill other animals, because they have a very short digestive system, lions are able to eat at short intervals. If food is abundant an adult lion can consume 30kg of meat in a sitting.  To be able to consume so much meat, lions evolved some special teeth adaptations.

The final stage of the hunt is vital to the lions if they want to make a kill.  The prey animals lions target do have many defence mechanisms and the prey has to be killed swiftly.  Lions use only their canines to kill and they make use of three different tactics.  If the prey is of small size the lions will kill it by biting through the nape (back of head) of an animal, crushing the brainstem.  Big animals are killed in two different ways and it is not clear when lions make the decision on which method to implement.  The suffocation bite on the nose area of prey animals are used more often than the strangulation neck bite.  The reason for the favouritism is that some prey animal’s throats are too wide for the lions gaping mouths. The dominant lioness will do the killing and if she wants to give the inexperience young lions a lesson in killing prey, she would only immobilize the doomed animal.

The lion’s canines are huge and are used exclusively in the killing bite.  On average the canines measure about 10cm and are sharpened by the lower canines every time lions close their mouths.  The pre-molars are acting like heavy-duty scissors and the lions will turn their heads sideways when feeding.  The lioness in the next photo is using her pre-molars to cut through tough eland meat.

The molars of a lion is also slightly facing forward, this will prevent chunks of meat to go down the throat prematurely.  The upper tongue region is also rough and acts like sandpaper, lions will first lick the hair off prey animals before they start to feed.

The kill was made and the lions can start to feed, yet there is a misconception on why the male lion will start to eat first.  The lion will allow the cubs to join him in the feast, but the lionesses must wait their turn.  The lionesses need to recuperate from the massive amount of energy wasted in the hunt and while resting they can also protect the kill from other predators.  If his majesty is full, he will take over the guard and the lionesses can feed in peace.

The hunt was successful and in the next article I will explain the importance of the tail in the bigger scheme of things.

Rangerriaan

Hide and Seek

There is a misconception about the role the male lion plays in a hunt.   Lions have been accused of doing nothing in assisting the lionesses in the hunt.  Many believe the lion live on the spoils of the hardworking lionesses, but that is wrong.  The lion has an important responsibility and that is to protect the pride and their existence.

The thick black mane is there to protect the lion’s neck when he fights other lions for dominance over territories.  These encounters between adult lions are ferocious and many lions are killed or badly mauled. “To Fox”, is a term biologists use when young lions are beginning to show there dark manes.

The only drawback is that the dark mane is very difficult to hide. Lions would love to help in the hunt but the lion will chase away all the prey animals and the pride will go without food. The lionesses are better equipped for the hunt and with their iseballine (greyish-yellow) colouration they can stalk the prey more effectively.

This greyish-yellow colouration can be seen in this photo and if the lioness is stalking prey she can almost disappear in the tall grass.  The lioness will keep low to the ground and if the prey animals raise their heads, the lioness will freeze until the prey animals resume grazing again.  The lioness can go unseen even to her own kind and that is why her ears have black blotches at the rear.  The lionesses need to know where each individual is in the hunt if they want to complete it successfully.  The dominant female will lead the way and rest of the hunting party will follow her movement through the grass by means of the black ears and will react to her movements.

The lioness is a powerful hunter and weigh on average about 90kg to 110kg.  This powerful bulk must be unseen in a hunt and the lioness will use the terrain in her advantage when stalking prey. On many occasions in my guiding career, I have seen lions used game viewer vehicles to their advantage in stalking prey.  The lioness in the next photo used the contour line of an airfield to spy on potential prey.

The next article will be about the killing act itself and how lions are adapted to kill large prey animals.  If the readers of this blog wanted to ask Rangerriaan questions about the different aspects of the natural wonders of South Africa, it can be done through my email address.

Enjoy what you do, “totsiens!”

Paws and Claws….

Lions are courser hunters, meaning they chase their prey.  Well, chasing alone is not going to catch the prey and many adaptations are involved in a successful hunt. The paws and claws play a vital role in the hunt and lions depend heavily on their limbs and paws to secure their survival.

The feline paw is unique in the fact that all cats use stealth to get close to prey animals.  Paws on cats are soft underneath to suppress any sound that may come from stepping on noisy undergrowth and cats will carefully place their paws so that the least amount of noise are made.

Lions need to wrestle the prey to the ground with their paws and the long sharp claws help the lions in doing so.  The claws are kept in peak condition and to protect the claws from going blunt the lion keep it in sheaths like daggers. When needed, lions can produce the claws in lightning fast fashion, thanks to a trigger system in the toes. The Cheetah is the only feline that does not fully retract their claws, but we will save that story for another article.

The trigger system in the paws plays two important roles in the hunt. The lions are able to extract the claws halfway; this will give the charging lion more traction when running at high-speed across ruff terrain.  When lions use the full extraction of their claws it is for one thing only, to pierce the skin of the prey animal and to hold on with bloody results.  The next photo might look gruesome but shows the effectiveness of these claws.



This zebra was badly mauled by two young lions and their inexperience led to the to these injuries and later the death of the zebra.  Even young lions are capable of inflicting mortal wounds and they will practise their tactics to take down animals with their claws.

I want to use this to explain to the reader the importance of not buying Jewellery and curio’s that contains animal parts.  Specially paws, claws and fangs of predators in Africa. The tourists are targeted to buy things like lion fang pendants, crocodile teeth earrings and many more hideous creations. Leopards cannot shed there claws, lions do not trade their teeth and crocodiles are going to fight to the death if you try to pull out their fangs. These animals are killed for their paws, claws and fangs.  Rather see these animals in their natural environment and show respect for the important roles they play in the ecosystems.

Rangerriaan

The hunt…

Lion’s hunting, successful or not, is one of the most rewarding sightings on a safari.  To see these super cats stalking and chasing their prey is a sight to behold.  The lion is also well equipped for the hunt and some of natures most logical yet unique adaptations are found in these felines.

Lions are nocturnal hunters and their eyes are the primary weapon they use in a hunt.   The eyes are adapted to aid the lion in seeing better in low light conditions, but that means they are sensitive to direct sunlight or sharp light.   If you compare the eyes of a cheetah and a lion, you will notice the difference immediately.

The cheetah is a diurnal (day living) hunter and the eye is adapted for strong light conditions.  The next photo shows the dark tear mark running down the cheetah’s face.

The purpose of this tear mark is to lessen the sun’s glare on the eyes of the cheetah while it is hunting in direct sunlight.  There are exceptions and cheetahs have been observed to hunt at night, but this was always with a full moon and the reason for this is obvious.

The eyes of lions are totally different and to hunt successfully in the dark they need to reflect all the available light into their eyes. It is never completely dark and the lions use lunar light and star light to enhance their night sight.  The thick white lines under and above the lion eyes can be seen in the next photo. These lines reflect the light back to the cornea and aid the eye in seeing in the dark.

The yellow arrow points towards a faint tear mark.  Lions are highly adaptable hunters, if the terrain allows better conditions for day time hunting they can adapt to these hunt at these times. The tear mark is not that dark, because the lions prefer the night time hunting and many more adaptations can aid them in doing so.

This article is the start of a new category, the hunt, where I will explain the dynamics that are involved in a lion while it is hunting. The following subjects will be explained.

The roll the paws and nails play in the hunt.

Camouflage and how the lions use the terrain to advance on prey animals.

The teeth count and structure and how these assist the lion in killing prey.

The tail and how it is used in keeping the lion upright.

Rangerriaan