Starvation accounts for the death of many juveniles and kittens. Adult bobcats are also sometimes killed by the animals they hunt, as they often target prey much larger than themselves. In the wild aside from lions, hyenas, leopards, and crocodiles sometimes feed on giraffes.Besides natural predators, one of the main predators of bobcats is humans, who hunt them primarily for their soft, attractive fur but also for sport. Many times predators fail to take them down due to their powerful leg kicks.

Yet, young giraffes are much more vulnerable, and lions would more frequently eat them.ĭespite their clumsy look, giraffes are strong animals. However, due to their size, adult giraffes are not the number one lion’s food source. Their strength and hunting skills allow them to eat large animals. While in most places it is illegal to harm or kill a giraffe, these scenarios occur very often. Regardless of the fact that they have very few predators in the wild, giraffes have much more dangerous predators called people. Still, crocodile attacks on giraffes are not as frequent. With their stealth attack, the crocodile would grab and pull its victim into the water and drown it. CrocodilesĬrocs would try to catch giraffes when drinking the water. Yet, if they get the slightest chance, they will attack young calves. Same as hyenas and leopards, they are not a threat to a grown giraffe. Known for their durability and aggression, these animals would chase their prey until exhaustion. Still, due to their solitary life and hunting habits, leopards only attack young and defenseless giraffes. Leopard is another cat family member that preys on giraffes. However, hyenas usually prey on young and weak giraffes rather than grown ones. Specialized teamwork hunters, hyenas are one of the most skilled hunters in the wild. They include: HyenasĪfter lions, hyenas are the most frequent giraffes predators. Nonetheless, apart from lions, a few other animals are known to attack a giraffe. Despite the fact that they grow really fast (2 inches per day) 75% of infants do not remain alive until adulthood. On the other side, young calves are often preyed upon. Most animals do not even dare attack an adult giraffe. Yet, due to their intimidating size and deadly kicks giraffes manage to defend themselves from intruders. Surrounded by adept hunters a day to day survival is like a game of chance. Other giraffes predatorsįor many animals, life in the wild is hard. However, there are cases when only two adult lions managed to take down a giraffe. When hunting a giraffe, a lion’s pack usually counts a larger group. And because of that, adult giraffes are not the number one food source for powerful predators. In fact, in many cases, some lion pack members suffer fatal injuries when attacking a giraffe. For instance, one strike can break a lion’s skull or back.

With an average weight of 2500 pounds, their strong hooves can be lethal for lions. When attacked, adult giraffes would protect themselves by kicking lions with their fore or hind legs. When lions grab giraffe calves, they most likely take them down every time. Yet, these scars are not found in young ones. In other words, a lot of giraffes managed to defend themselves from lions. Surprisingly, most of the scars are from the lion’s claws. In recent reports, scientists inspected the scars on giraffes’ backs and legs. And big cats do not every time manage to prey on a lanky animal. Read Also: Do Lions Eat Fish? How do giraffes protect themselves from lions?Įven though they look peaceful and feeble, giraffes are not easy prey. And once it is down, all pack members would start preying on an animal. After inflicting many bites and claw wounds, a giraffe would become less and less resistant, and more lions would start leaping on its back.Įventually, a giraffe would get knocked down. Therefore, lions attack a giraffe’s hind legs. When hunting other animals, lions usually kill their prey by strangulating or going for the victim’s neck with their powerful jaws.Ī giraffe is too large for the lion to pounce directly on its neck. And, in order to take down a grown giraffe, a lion’s pack requires teamwork. Still, even one adult giraffe is a challenging task. Hence, many giraffes live outside the groups, and those same giraffes are the main lion’s target. However, their social bond is not as strong as other herd animals. Also, besides their dimensions, giraffes are social animals, and they find additional safety by living in herds. How do giraffes protect themselves from lions?ĭue to their enormous size, giraffes are not usually targeted by lions.

Giraffe predators and prey