Watch a Zebra Bolt Through Chasing Lions Like It's a Running Back Carving Up a Defense

There are plenty of videos online of lion prides bringing down zebras – but they have to catch them first! The zebra in this club decides that speed is the best method of defense and motors past not just one but five or six lions. Some of them make an attempt to grab at the zebra as it gallops by but none of them are successful. This is a masterclass in evasion tactics by a prey animal showing skills that any footballer would be proud of!

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What Do Lions Normally Eat?

Lions are large carnivores who need a lot of protein to keep them healthy. In Africa, they can hunt a wide variety of prey including a lot of medium to large-sized ungulates. Zebras fall into this category as do warthogs, impala, and buffalo. Particular lion prides often become experts at hunting one type of prey and this is often the animal that is most abundant in the areas where they live. In between larger kills, lions will feed on birds, reptiles, fish, and even insects. Some prides gain a lot of their food from scavenging kills from other animals.

Lions are usually very successful hunters but obviously in this case things did not go according to plan. Their success rate also varies by location. For example, prides in the Kalahari area have around 40 percent success rates whereas those in the Etosha National Park have just a 15 percent success rate.

How Do Lions Normally Hunt?

It is typical for lions to hunt as a pride as this gives them a greater chance of success. Having said that, male lions in particular are also willing to hunt alone sometimes. The lion pride approaches the target prey in a stalking sequence with their bodies low to the ground. This sequence has already been achieved by the time this footage was captured. What we see here is the chase. If this is successful, it results in the target prey being dragged to the ground.

The lion pride organizes themselves so that some of them cut the prey off by running ahead of it. To achieve this, lions can run in short bursts of up to 37 mph. Unfortunately for the lions, zebras can run a little faster at around 40 mph and can keep this up for long distances. In this case, however, the zebra didn’t have to do that because the lions gave up quite quickly!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Rostislav Stach/Shutterstock.com