Watch: Lions at watering hole want no part of pesky turtle
The Africa lion is king of beasts, but a brave little turtle is not impressed. Watch as the turtle takes charge of its watering hole.
The Africa lion is king of beasts, but a brave little turtle is not impressed.
The accompanying footage shows a small turtle – more precisely a terrapin – swimming boldly up to a male and female lion in what initially seems a defense of its watering hole.
It’s worth watching to the end as the turtle becomes more emphatic with each encounter and the lions aren’t sure how to respond to the interruption of their important drinking time.
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The rarely observed interaction was captured by guide Reggi Barreto, 30, in the MalaMala Private Game Reserve in Greater Kruger Park.
Barreto told Latest Sightings: “I knew the lions would look for water to drink and we positioned ourselves in the perfect spot with the sunlight in our favor, ready for the sighting. What came next we did not expect – I was pleasantly surprised when the terrapin came out of the wallow towards the male and then the lioness.”
While the carnivorous terrapin might have been defending its territory, it’s more likely that the turtle detected blood on the facial hairs of the lions, which had just feasted on a zebra carcass.
Said Barreto: “It was an incredibly rare sighting for me to film – watching the terrapin approach the lions that had blood on their chins from the zebra. It seems as though the terrapin was actually more interested in getting some of that blood off the lions’ chins, as opposed to ‘chasing the lions away.’ ”
–Images courtesy of LatestSightings.com