Running Towards the Lion

Lions have an especially pernicious way of hunting their prey. It seems that they terrorize their victims into making the worst possible choice about how to protect themselves from being eaten. The hunt begins when a pack of lions spies a stray animal such as a zebra that has wandered away from its herd, or is sick, or is at the back of the pack. In a remarkable division of labor, male lions line up on one side of the lone animal while lionesses deploy on the opposite side.

Once battle lines are in place, the roaring begins. Male lions possess a singular capacity to discharge a thunderous, spine-chilling roar. In an inevitable fit of terror, the zebra bolts away from the horrific sound—and into the claws of expert killers, the lionesses. Death for the confused victim is certain. If the doomed creature had only understood the real situation, it would have overcome its impulse to flee the noise and instead run toward the male lions, who sound like death itself but lack the drive and energy to be the actual killers of the pride’s next meal.