In this amazing footage we witness apex predators at peak performance. Warning: nature as it really is.
At first, the pack of wild dogs forced the antelope, a lechwe, in to the water. As the dogs closed in, the lechwe fought back, attempting to impale the dogs with its horns. But everything changed when the hyenas arrived on the scene.
The action played out before shocked tourists near the Mombo Camp in the Okavango Delta of Botswana.
African Wild Dogs are famous for their ferocity. Possessing a bone-crushing bite and a ruthless pack mentality, few animals do not live in fear of these rare canines. But even these ferocious predators can be scared off by the pure savagery of a pack of hyenas.
Hyenas and wild dogs are both mammals in the order Carnivora. Yet, the similarities end there. Despite hyenas’ appearance, they are actually more closely related to cats than they are to dogs and are classified under the suborder Feliformia. Meanwhile, wild dogs are naturally classified under the suborder Caniformia.
Spotted hyenas are generally bigger and more powerful than African wild dogs, so even when they’re alone, they can hold their own against a pack of the smaller wild dogs. Because of this, spotted hyenas frequently follow packs of wild dogs and steal their kills.
If the hyena is stealthy, they can take the wild dogs’ food unnoticed, but if the wild dogs discover the hyena, the situation can get ugly. The cooperative pack mentality of the wild dogs can overwhelm a hungry hyena, and the brutal force of a hungry hyena can overwhelm a pack of wild dogs.
