Lioness hunts, finds pregnant prey: Her remorse stuns.
It is said that what separates humans from animals is our innate consciousness. But we also know animals can indeed show signs of compassion and sympathy towards other animals — and, not to mention, towards us humans. But never have I seen anything quite like this before. Some animals are predators, others prey, some both. Lions are the King of the Jungle and truly at the apex of the food chain. They are powerful creatures known as fierce hunters — which might lead one to assume they are also heartless creatures utterly devoid of consciousness. Incredible events witnessed by a group of safari explorers in the Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa, are now astonishing the world. While out exploring the reserve, the group discovered a lioness who had recently hunted and caught her prey — a large antelope. But moments after the capture and beginning to devour her catch, she suddenly paused: She’d discovered the antelope’s unborn fetus in its belly. What happens next is truly astonishing — and it only becomes more so. She immediately stepped back and stopped eating.
She removed the fetus and gently placed it down, pacing around it, as if to ascertain if it was still alive. “I have seen a lion kill where the prey was pregnant but normally they would just continue feeding as if nothing was wrong,” said Gerry Van Der Walt, who was leading the safari. “But this time the scenes that followed left us all dumbfounded,” he added. “Once separated from the mother, the lioness very gently placed the fetus on the ground and spent a considerable amount of time smelling and investigating the unborn antelope. She very gently put the fetus on the ground, all the while looking around, appearing quite tense and nervous. She then nudged the fetus with her nose, gently rolling it over, before she picked it up by the scruff of its neck as if it was one of her own cubs,” Gerry said. When the lioness finally seemed to realize that the fetus was dead, she gently lifted it and placed it behind a bush, as if to provide it with a respectful resting place. Then, she remained nearby, as if mourning. “We watched as she carefully walked towards the thicket where she placed the fetus very carefully at the base of the tall grass. She nudged it a few times again with her nose, still scanning her surroundings all the time as if she was expecting either assistance or danger,” Gerry adds.
As if this wasn’t astonishing enough, the lioness’ next moves further astonished the group of witnesses. She ceased her feeding entirely and then simply lay down next to her prey, as if overcome by guilt and regret. And there she remained for some time. “This was definitely one of the most extraordinary moments of lion behavior I have ever witnessed. What was she thinking? Why did she react the way she did?” Gerry ponders. To me, the explanation couldn’t be clearer. This astonishing event proves animals can feel compassion and even remorse for their behavior. Who could blame a lioness for hunting down her prey? It is just the natural order of things. And yet despite it being a perfectly natural behavior, she felt guilt afterward and exhibited incredible behavior that even humans might envy! Animals are truly remarkable. Share this story if you agree.