I am a bit late to report this ~ it appears that at some time in late July a pride of lions took down an abandoned elephant calf outside Samburu National Reserve, in a community area called West Gate, in northern Kenya. The poor baby was apparently abandoned or lost by its herd and was left alone in the thick brush where it succumbed to the big cats overnight. Just goes to show that macropredation is more an act of opportunity than necessity in lions.
More on the incident on the Ewaso Lions blog: http://ewasolions.wildlifedirect.org/2008/09/04/lions-kill-elephant
4 comments:
I know it's a part of nature, but i must admit this makes me really sad :(
Me too. I love lions and elephants but elephants don't usually have anything to fear from big cats. My heart breaks for this baby whose last days were spent alone, almost certainly afraid and hungry, then only to face a sad and painful death:-(
Hi - this actually did not take place in Samburu National Reserve - it happened outside in the community area called West Gate. I think the lions found the baby pretty quickly after it was separated from the family.
Thanks Shivani for the helpful info. I've edited the post in accordance :)
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