In a study of lion hunts, zebras were particularly vulnerable, with 1,300 kills recorded in 4,750 hunts. During the same period, lions stalked giraffes 200 times and were successful only six times. Besides the usual diet of impalas and tsessebe antelope, lion prey include young elephants, Cape buffalo, and hippopotamuses. Lions devote little time to hunting, usually spending about 20 hours a day sleeping or lying around. Usually, though, they keep their eyes on the sky, for the sight of vultures circling down on a carcass will launch a lion even in the heat of midday.
Lions are opportunistic, and carrion is easy food.
When lions hunt, they rely as much on timing as on their retractile claws and long canine teeth. They watch for that single moment when their quarry slackens its vigil, or, on the run, slackens its speed. By reacting one moment too late, the hunted gives the hunter that instant that lies between life and death, between hunger and the lion's share. Hugh Lauter Levin Associates. All rights reserved.