INTERACTION BETWEEN LIONS AND HYAENAS IN THE CRATER 2007-RECENT

In Africa southern of Sahara on the hierarchy of predators the top one is a Lions followed by Hyenas. This is story about there interaction down in the crater floor. Because these two social predators share the same food resource especially wildebeest and zebras sometime warthogs but only from the lions and the clashes are frequently although most of their activity happen during the night and we have no access to the crater floor so, these are accumulations of these two main predators that we encountered on our frequent drives that we did down to the crater floor In the crater we have three dominant male that dominate the whole crater ,one of those male was matting with a female while the other male was about 30 meters away sleeping, about another 50 meters away seems like they had an early kill of a buffalo and about 20 Hyaenas were feeding on the remaining with couples of vultures, quiet amazing we found them on 2nd June `07 at 12H55 about 7 kilometers away to prove that they are the dominant of the whole crater just 2 of them no any female around them. Earlier this year the Vidimbwini pride of lions of about five females with three male cubs and two middle aged young males by now they are abandoned with their coalition by now they frequent the hippo pool all the way to Munge river right at the Seneto spring they were surrounded by forty hyenas looks like they were in each other territory but the lions seems that they were not even mind about those hyenas Reference: from ecological journal of 2003 one of those dominant males of the crater on that day he was with that Vidimbwini pride he attacked one hyena and died the next day of its wound and then eaten by others, that’s why those hyenas they will always have confrontation with those lions of Vidimbwini in consideration of that kill. One grown up female with one cub relaxing on the other side while two others tried to join them from the other side but separated by the clan of 40 Hyaenas and drew the attention of the hyenas while 3 of those cubs tried to join others. The Hyaenas where next to the hippo pool in their pool while 3 of them were enjoying their swim in that pool about 10 meters away from relaxed hippos but those two cub scared them out of their pool for some few minutes they were like tying to charge to them hopefully they realized they were males even though they were young maybe the hierarchy took its position It was just after we finished our breakfast in the morning drive Just close by the hyenas den at the lake Magadi we came across a pride of ten lions they had a buffalo kill just recent and they were feeding on it In a distance a group of bachelor’s buffalo were approaching that sight They drew our attention because they were heading towards were the lions had their kill Few meters they stopped after they sported those lions they were about ten of them Kept approaching slowly and attentively And then in a full speed charged on those lions by that time the most populated predators in the crater (Hyenas) they were watching everything in a close look

Posted: Ngorongoro Crater by eddie isaac, Date: 9 April 2008