Giraffe predators and prey
The “autographs” that lions leave on giraffes with their claw marks are one tool that scientists can use.The snowy owl is also known as the Arctic owl or the great white owl. There is still much to learn about how lions hunt giraffes. Lions and giraffes have been locked in combat for millions of years and hopefully will continue their drama in the future with efforts to preserve them and their ecosystems. One successful lion kill of a giraffe was observed where the lion brought its prey down on top of itself and was crushed to death! There are recorded incidents of giraffes decapitating lions with their kicks. Attacking a giraffe is risky business for a lion.” Adult giraffes have severely injured and even killed lions with well-placed kicks. “An attacked giraffe kicks vigorously with its forelegs and hind legs and poses a serious threat to a lion. Even if the lion didn’t successfully hunt giraffes with amputated tails, they can make their lives miserable because losing a tail may make it difficult for a giraffe to swat away biting tsetse flies or knock Acacia thorns out of its skin.Ī lion attack on a giraffe is obviously dangerous for the giraffe, but can it be dangerous for the lion too? When giraffes were found with missing tails, there were always claw marks on their tail stumps, hind legs or rumps. When lions attack giraffe calves they probably always succeed with their hunt. No claw marks were found of giraffe calves. This may be because it easier for giraffes to see lions in open areas than in woodlands where the lions can better hide. There are more claw marks on giraffes in more densely wooded areas of the Serengeti than in open grassland areas.
Giraffe predators and prey skin#
This makes sense because giraffes have thick skin on their neck and fronts that is difficult for lions to penetrate. Most of the lion claw marks are found on the hindquarters of giraffes, confirming that lions attack giraffes from behind. Scientists can learn several things about how lions attack giraffes based on the claw marks that lions inflict during failed hunts. (Imagine dragging your fingernails through the mud.)” As a lion drags its claws along the skin of its prey, it leaves a pretty distinctive set of parallel incisions. “Whereas hyenas, which prey on young giraffes, grab hold of prey with their strong teeth and jaws, leaving puncture wounds. “Lions, like other felids, rely on powerful forelimbs and retractable claws to grab hold of prey,” she said.
Giraffe predators and prey how to#
The first question that Megan faced was how to tell that the claw marks she observed on the giraffes were really from lions. “I did some reading and discovered that marine biologists use predation scars observed on living whales and dolphins to learn about their predators, so I thought this would be an exciting new method to apply to giraffes.” “When I examined the scars through my binoculars and zoomed in on digital photographs, it was clear that these scars were caused by lions,” she said. She noticed some interesting scars on the bodies of the giraffes in her study population and wondered what caused them. She has photographed hundreds of individual giraffes. Megan Strauss studies the ecology and behavior of giraffes in the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania. If lion attacks on giraffes are rarely witnessed, then how can scientists learn about how often they happen and how successful they are? George Schaller, a famous biologist, observed only 10 lion attacks on giraffes in his three-year study of lions in the Serengeti. Lions hunt subadult and adult giraffes also, although people rarely see these attacks. More than half of giraffe calves never reach adulthood and lion predation may be the leading cause of death. They attack both giraffe calves and adults. Lions are the main predators of giraffes. The giraffe manages to break the hold of the lion’s paws and run away to safety – for now. A struggle ensues as the giraffe bucks and shakes, kicking at the lion with its sharp hooves.
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The lion launches itself at the giraffe, attacking the giraffe’s hindquarters with its massive paws and grasping it with its claws. The giraffe does not see the golden cat in the tall yellow grass, nor does it hear or smell it until it is too late to run. A lion creeps towards the giraffe from the rear. This time though, he does not see or hear danger slinking towards him. He has superb eyesight and hearing and these senses are mounted on the tallest watchtower in the animal kingdom.
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He wraps his long, flexible tongue around the sharp thorns of the tree branch and plucks it clean, leaf-by-leaf. Sometimes the lions win…and sometimes they don’t.Ī male giraffe contentedly strips leaves from an acacia tree on the Serengeti plains.