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In the wild, male lions will fight for their territory, and they’re prepared to do so until death.
While, for humans, witnessing such a tussle unfold may come off as extremely brutal, but these moments are the reality of wild predatory animals living and fighting for their rightful spot in the bush.
In footage uploaded by Latest Sightings and captured by Tyron Horne – head guide at andBeyond Ngala Private Game Reserve in Timbavati – two lions from the Mbiri pride fight to reclaim their territory from an Avoca pride male. Watch:
Horne explains that two Mbiri lions who had been chased out of their territory returned to the area to lay claim to a “free meal” – a buffalo that had died in the area.
On return to their old turf, which they had been chased out of by the Avoca males, Horne said that the two lions were ready to reclaim what was originally theirs.
This is when the Mbiri lions crossed paths with two Avoca males that were now in charge.
The Mbiri lions, now in their prime, decided to attack. One of the Avoca males was chased away, but the other lion’s fate was sealed when the Mbiri brothers managed to flag the lion down.
This is when Horne, with safari guests in tow, arrived for a front-row seat to one of nature’s most brutal showdowns. In his conversation with Latest Sightings, Horne said:
“What greeted us was truly shocking and left not only me but all of my guests silent for a few minutes. It was gruesome, to say the least; the two attacking males were covered in blood, which gave them a fierce look. The other male was on his back with blood covering his entire back and legs.”
“They were biting at the soft underbelly; they had this look in their eyes that you could see from months of anger being built up. Because they had been pushed out for so long, when they finally were able to take revenge, they were not holding back. The bigger of the brothers managed to bite down between the intruder’s back legs and ripped so hard that his intestines came flying out!”
“Despite being covered in blood and his insides hanging out of him, the Avoca male was still alive! Raising his head and trying to put up a fight, he snapped his jaws. However, it was not of any help; he was too far gone. He fell back down, and the Mbiri brothers went back at it, growling and biting until they were certain that he would not move again.”
“Once he stopped moving, the Mbiri brothers did the unthinkable; they began eating his dead body. This is not something that lions would commonly do, but they were clearly in a rage, and there was no stopping them. They dragged his lifeless body around and, for the next two days, stuck with it while continuously eating from it. It was as if they were sending a message to any other males that were thinking of coming into their territory.”
Feature Image: Tyron Horne via Latest Sightings.
