Carnivorous Predators
The Lion
(Panthera leo)

Lions Eat Adult Male Human
(mp4: 11.6Mb)

In most wildlife parks, "interference" with the flora and fauna is unlawful. Even when a non-human animal is in extreme distress - sick or crippled, dying of hunger or thirst, or being asphyxiated a predator - spectators must just "let Nature take its course". Traumatic scenes like the kill shown above are common. In the living world, many herbivorous mammals will at some stage in their lives witness a close relative being hunted down and then either suffocated or eaten alive by lions or other predators. To the outsider, predation can be an enthralling spectacle. Photographers strive to get the best possible shots for TV wildlife documentaries. The photographer of the distressing scene above - like the scenes shown here - just keeps filming. He seeks to capture the best pictures rather than "interfering". This incident occurred in 1995. After the lions had partially eaten the tourist in front of his horrified family, park rangers arrived to "interfere". They drove the lions off. But by then, the tourist was dead.

* * *

HOME
Darwinian Life
Conservation Biology
The Abolitionist Project
Lions vs Crocodile vs Buffalo

Reprogramming Predators