Durban - It is believed that there is no honour among thieves, but what about the animal kingdom?
A new video going viral online shows that there isn’t, in fact, honour among beasts.
Ranger and guide at Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge in Mpumalanga, Brett Heasman, was in the right place at the right time to capture footage of a lion stealing a carcass from a large venue of vultures, who stole the catch from a cheetah.
The incident occurred last week.
Heasman said they were alerted about the incident after alarm calls came in from an area located in front of the lodge.
In the video, a cheetah can be seen eating an antelope. While doing so, a flock of vultures nearby try to steal the dead animal from the cheetah on several occasions until they finally overpower the world's fastest land animal.
The vultures swoop in on the carcass and feast for a bit before they are seen dispersing the area to make way for a young male lion.
The future king of the jungle quickly picks up the carcass and makes off with it.
“We saw that it (the cheetah) had managed to take down an impala and figured that this was probably why the alarm calls were so urgent. Looking a bit nervous, as cheetahs normally do before settling down to eat, the cheetah scanned the area for any possible scavengers that might interrupt his feast. After a few scans of the area, he finally got going and started feasting on his hard-earned meal.
“Not long after the cheetah settled down, vultures started gathering around it in enormous numbers. Each time the cheetah lowered its head to take a bite, the vultures inches in closer and closer, almost circling the cheetah.
“After a few attempts by the cheetah at scaring the vultures off, they finally managed to overpower the cheetah and took the impala for themselves.
“We sat in awe, watching the vultures scurry and feast while the cheetah disappeared into the thicket. Within a few seconds, it was chaos, vultures were scattering in a panic and we could not understand what was happening,” Heasman said.
“Not even a minute later, a young male lion came rushing into view. He chased the vultures off and claimed the kill for himself!! This was incredible! What a meal! The lion then dragged the kill off to some thick area where he spent the rest of the time finishing off the meal,” he added.
IOL