There has been a lot of traffic about this behavior lately on the Zim FB pages. There's a good You Tube clip at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbkpYukox-c.

The speculation is because of the drought the lions have an alternate food source in crocs, but of course they are not that easy to kill, so it requires some specialized behavior.

It would be interesting to know if this has been seen on a regular basis elsewhere in Africa.

It would be a more interesting video showing how the lion got close to and killed the live croc.

I have doubts that a lion could catch & kill a large healthy croc without sustaining great injuries itself.
A croc catching & killing a lion at the waters edge would be more believable to me.

There is an island off of Bumi that has a bunch of lions on it. I wonder if this was filmed there? God knows there are plenty of crocs.

i think maybe the lion came upon a dead croc

quote:

A croc catching & killing a lion at the waters edge would be more believable to me.

In 2004, I shot a 13' croc off of a hippo bait in Lake Kariba at Omay. After skinning, we inspected the stomach contents and discovered three lion claws, which I kept as a bonus trophy. I've often wondered what a fight that must have been.

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
i think maybe the lion came upon a dead croc

I think your assumption is correct.
To think this clip supports the notion these lions have developed new behaviour is a croc of shit.

A jaguar and a caiman. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eu1by5-BpTA
Admittedly not a croc but lion may be able to take on a small croc.


Mark

Apart from jaguars killing caiman, tigers are known to kill 14ft + Muggar crocs in India. A tigress machli was famous for this at Ranthambore and there is a well know video clip of this on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYC_R-tsrEU

I do not see why an adult lion cannot kill a similar size croc.

You can probably find more on the Friends of Matusadona FB page.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201603100640.html



Zimbabwe: Zim Lion Devours Croc On Lake Kariba

By News24 Correspondent


Have you heard about the crocodile-eating lions on the shores of Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba?

Bumi Hills Safari Lodge has shared extraordinary footage of a lion munching on a crocodile at the edge of the lake, one of Zimbabwe's most popular tourist destinations.

In fact, two young lions from the same group are now regularly dining on crocodiles that they've killed, says the luxury resort.

In the last two weeks the brothers have "dispatched" three large crocodiles measuring up to four metres.

Catherine Norton, deputy general manager at Bumi Hills Safari Lodge told News24 that staff there first realised that the lions were killing crocodiles last year.



"We first noticed this behaviour last year when we found two small crocodile carcasses which had clearly been killed and eaten by lions," she said.

"We thought it was an opportunistic kill and was unlikely to be repeated," she added.

But the staff was wrong.

Now the lions are taking on much bigger prey.

While a kill hasn't actually been witnessed yet, the lions' method appears fairly clear.

They seem to be grabbing the unlucky crocs at the base of the skull and then flipping the creatures over to get to the jugular.

There's even a suggestion that a certain amount of crafty teamwork is involved, according to Norton. It may be, she says, that "one lion distracts the croc whilst the other leaps on [it]".

Lion attacks on crocodiles are not unheard of. Cases have been recorded in Kenya. Crocodiles occasionally attack lions at waterholes.

But the kind of behaviour that the Bumi Hills pair are engaging in does seem to be extremely rare.

Norton says the reason for it is not likely to be anything to do with a shortage of regular prey like buffalo, kudu and impala. These animals are still plentiful on Kariba's shores.

Norton said, "We think that it is learned behaviour... When you think about it, killing a crocodile which could well be half asleep dozing in the sun is a lot simpler than stalking and chasing after an alert and nimble antelope."

So is it dangerous for the lions and any cubs who might be around?

"All kills are potentially dangerous," Norton told News24. "But not for cubs, as they are always kept well out of the way while the hunt is underway."

Kariba is 360 kilometres from Harare.

Source: News24

The way that croc looked I would bet that a hippo killed him and the lion found him.