South AfricaAntelopes find themselves in a difficult situation when faced with two predators at the same time, crocodiles in the water and lions on shore.
Tourist Michaela Crous filmed the interesting interactions between antelope, crocodiles and lions at Mkuze nature reserve, South Africa, Latest Sightings reported on April 17. Before that, when Crous and the tour group approached a lake, they encountered a female lion stalking a male nyala antelope. Taking advantage of the grass around the lake, the hunter quietly approached his prey. When the distance is close enough, the lion rushes out to attack. However, the antelope saw the lioness in time and ran away.
After running for a while, the gazelle realized it could not be faster than the hungry lioness. So it rushed into the water hoping to escape. The hunter seemed to know the potential danger of large crocodiles lurking, so he did not enter the lake. It also knows that the antelope cannot stand in the water forever, so it sits and waits for its prey to move. Meanwhile, the antelope also persistently stood in the lake hoping that the lion would soon leave.
Due to focusing on the lioness, the nyala antelope was surprised when the crocodile sneaked in to attack. However, thanks to its extremely fast reflexes, it quickly kicked its legs and jumped away from the crocodile. The attack caused the antelope to run ashore even though they knew the lion was waiting. In a difficult situation, it decided to fight. With its long horns, it charged straight at the lion, causing the hunter to run away in panic. Finally, seemingly feeling that his horns could hurt him, the lion gave up the hunt and left.
Nyala antelope (Tragelaphus angasii) is native to southern Africa. They are herbivores with a body length of 135 – 195 cm, weight of 55 – 140 kg, only males have horns. Their horns can be 60 – 83 cm long. Nyala antelopes prefer to live in dense bushes in the desert and near lakes. They are prey for lions, leopards, African wild dogs, baboons and birds of prey.