Unless you live out in the Serengeti, you probably don’t see wild animals chasing each other around very often. However, in a recent yet wild turn of events, a video was uploaded involving a lion, a dog, and, wait for it… cows, in a wild chase
While it may have been a terrifying thing to see in person, the footage is definitely as funny as it is unusual.
The whole scene was captured from a surveillance camera in a small alley out in Gujarat Village. We start by seeing a cattle herd running through the alley with a dog taking up the lead. At first, it’s easy to think that this is just your average herd dog, making sure the cattle get to where they need to go.
However, once you realize why the dog is barking so loud, the situation amps up. Deep into the alley and out of the long shadows, the lion comes into the frame. This dog is clearly running for its life, not only trying to save itself from harm but also the cattle it has likely been sworn to protect.
One comment on the uploaded video was pretty funny, noting that the dog didn’t have to be the fastest animal in the herd, it just needed to make sure that it wasn’t the slowest.
Of course, all of this chaos spurs the question,
Would a lion even eat a dog?
Now, it’s not often that we see lions and dogs interacting unless we’re talking about wild dogs on the plains of Africa in the most recent Planet Earth doc. In fact, most of the time, when we imagine dogs, we think of our furry little friends who would in no way be able to make it out in the world without us.
What we learned from this video is that Lions will go out of their way to hunt for wild dogs, which are different than the domesticated creatures we call our most loyal friends.
Remember, lions are big cats, and cats are not fans of dogs. It’s in their nature to be rivals. With that said, we also know that lions are what animal experts refer to as “self-assured” creatures. This means that they like to hunt for the biggest prey, such as antelopes and zebras, to flaunt their abilities to the rest of the pride.
What’s unusual is that though most wild African dogs meet their demise in the wild thanks to lions, most lions won’t waste time eating them unless there is a major food shortage. Instead, Lions see dogs in the wild as competitors, as they’re vying for the same food sources.
Now, though this wild dog was leading the herd of cattle through the alley, it wasn’t any more capable of standing up for itself than the livestock.
If you’ve ever heard the saying, “There’s power in numbers,” it couldn’t be any more true with a herd of cattle, as they often have to group up to protect themselves from predators.
