Here, Keety, Keety.

The following YouTube video was filmed in 2004 by a tourist named David Budzinski while on safari at Kruger National Park in eastern South Africa. Normally I’m not into natural selection cinema, which is why I can’t watch most episodes of shows like Planet Earth. But this vid was so captivating, I felt it worthy to post for the three people who haven’t yet seen it. It was such a bizarre glimpse of nature that National Geographic recently re-digitized the footage and parlayed the eight-minute clip into an hour-long documentary.

Postscript:

Here’s some more info I thought would add some insight to the video:

-Mr. Budzinski filmed the action from a safari tour vehicle occupied by several others, including a guide. They were staged in a parking lot next to a popular watering hole, ready to call it a day. The rest of the tour vehicles had left the area before this scene began to unfold, and the guide suggested they wait a while to see what would ensue. Mr. Budzinski would have missed much of the action if the other tourists had not instructed him where to point his camcorder, since his peripheral vision was limited by the device.

-All of the lions in the video were around three years old and weighed approximately 300 lbs. each. The reason they didn’t rip this poor calf to shreds is because lions kill their prey by either clamping down on the neck or over the face to suffocate the victim. The lions were likely exhausted from playing tug-of-war with a 600-lb. crocodile and did not have the energy to thwart the Cape buffalo attack. They released their grip on the calf’s throat long enough for it to call out, alerting the rest of the herd to return.

-You’ll notice that all of the punishment was dispensed by only one of the buffaloes.