A male lion called Red runs into trouble when he encounters a clan of Hyenas. Greatly outnumbered, he must fight against the odds in a battle for his life.
A young male lion, out exploring on his own, strays too far from home and finds himself surrounded by a clan of 20 fierce hyenas.
“While it may look shocking, it is not unheard of for groups of hyenas to take down lions – most often cubs or older individuals. Often seen as the villains of the African grasslands, hyenas are an intelligent and adaptable species that work together to protect their clans.”
The moment was captured by the BBC’s Natural History Unit who were filming the pride of lions for the series Dynasties.
Lions producer Simon Blakeney remembers the moment the young male, Red, found himself in real trouble.
“Initially he tried to show how dominant he was by chasing individual hyenas,” says Blakeney.
“But by the time he got over his bravado, he was surrounded by twenty or thirty of them and couldn’t escape. Each time he lashed out at one that came close, others would attack him from behind. He was vastly outnumbered, and trapped in a life and death situation.”
Dynasties follows the lives of five animals: lions, chimpanzees, hunting dogs, emperor penguins and tigers. The show, which has taken four years to bring to our screens, will look at the challenges each of the species faces from climate change and other human factors.
The BBC calls Dynasties “an intense portrayal of the lives of these animals as they unfold, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, where the tiniest incident may end up having a huge consequence on their future.”
Watch the intense clip below:
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