Male Lion (Panthera leo) Caught In The Beam Of The Headlights
With relatively small hearts and lungs lions are not fast runners; a maximum speed of 60kph, nor do they have the stamina to keep this pace for more than a 100 – 200m. As such, lions rely on stalking their prey and seldom charge until they are within 30m, unless the prey is facing away and cannot see the charge. Most successful hunts are on dark nights in dense cover against a single prey animal. One reason for lions’ relatively low hunting success rate is that lions do not take into account wind direction when hunting; they often approach prey from an upwind direction thereby alerting the prey and ending the hunt. Secondly, the lion’s charge is generally launched directly at its quarry and it rarely alters the path of attack, as do other cats. Generally speaking, if a lion misses its target on the first run it usually abandons the chase.
Size: 4929px × 2773px
Location: Kariega, South Africa
Photo credit: © John Porter LRPS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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