- [Narrator] Lions are the biggest of Africa's cats,
with males standing four feet tall at the shoulder,
and weighing 420 pounds.
(lion roaring)
While lionesses are smaller, at 290 pounds.
They are the only truly social big cats,
living together in groups known as prides.
Their ability to hunt as a team gives them the edge
and allows them to bring down prey
well over twice their size.
By weight, lions are responsible
for 65% of the prey killed on the savanna.
And these lions specialize in hunting
one of their fellow big five.
Buffaloes are no easy target though,
because these huge herbivores
have one special weapon against predators.
Power in numbers.
Herds like this one are made up
mostly of females and their young,
and can have several hundred members.
Within such a big group, organization is needed.
(dynamic music)
And buffaloes have a well-ordered herd structure,
with smaller family units sticking together.
This mother had her first calf at around five years old.
The youngster will be weaned at seven months.
And from there on will subsist on grass, like his mum.
If conditions are good the mother
will have a new calf every 15 months.
She, like all Buffalo cows,
won't move far from her relatives in the herd.
But the bulls must look further afield
if they're to find a mate.
Before they can breed
they have to fight their way up the herd's hierarchy.
This means going head to head with other bulls.
(horns knocking) (dramatic music)
(bulls growling)
Two 1,700 pound bulls slamming into each other
has the equivalent force of a car
hitting a wall at 31 miles per hour.
To protect their brains and absorb the impact,
males have a thick helmet of horn called a boss.
It takes eight years of battling
for a buffalo bull to get high enough
on the pecking order to be eligible for breeding.
Dominance in these mega-herds has other benefits too.
The highest ranking buffaloes take up position
at front and center of the herd,
giving them first access to the best food,
and minimizing their chances of becoming prey.
But not all buffalo enjoy the safety of the herd.
Bulls leave when they get too old to fight for dominance,
or keep up with the group.
Alone they are far more vulnerable to lions.
And more dangerous to men.
Legends of these old bulls trampling
and goring hunters to death
struck fear into the hearts of men.
And earned buffalo a place in the big five.
Unlike rhino and elephant, buffalo weigh less than a ton,
making them small enough to be killed by lions.
Mostly the mega-herders have the edge
and a united front of horned heads
can drive away a whole pride of lions.
Such large congregations not only offer
protection from predators, they also play a crucial role
in maintaining the savanna ecosystem.
Buffalo are bulk grazers using wide rows of incisors
to crop large quantities of long grass.
As they feed they clear access to shorter,
more nutritious shoots below
for selective grazers like rhino.
(buffalo groaning)
It's the Buffalo's ability to work as a herd
and to survive on low quality food
that has allowed them to thrive
in the face of nature's challenges.
With population estimates ranging from 500,000 to a million,
they are the most numerous of any of the big five.
But still buffalo must stay vigilant
because lions are also experts at working together,
which is no doubt how this buffalo became a meal.
Male lions are more powerful than the females and eat first.
Once this big male has had the proverbial lion's share
the rest will eat.
The pride is at home in the dense cover of the bushveld,
using the cloak of foliage to remain unseen,
and protect their newest and most vulnerable members.