Just now!

This young female lion caught a small warthog piglet for her dinner.

In a new experience for me, she was left alone by her pride of eight other lions to eat it by herself.

After a short chase, all of them except one gave up and did not follow her. The one that stayed waited respectfully until she was allowed to devour a few leftovers.

I am not sure, but I think this behavior was supported by the fact that all of them all had semi-full stomachs and that it is relatively easy for them to make a kill in the current conditions (long grass, abundant prey animals, and all of them participating in hunts).

In contrast, I have a video from a few years back where eight lions fought violently over one warthog. That is the what they usually do over smaller kills.

I never stop learning about animal behavior!

PS: The very bright red (oxygen-rich) blood on her face indicates that the kill happened ‘just now’.

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f/11 800mm | ISO 20000 | 1/750 sec | EV +0 | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 25% of the original image

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