Warning: this episode is a realistic account of the brutal aspect of wild life in African savanna. Many pictures may be upsetting and are not for the faint-hearted.
警告：这篇游记记录了非洲草原上弱肉强食的无情的现实。 很多照片会让你觉得不舒服。 心肠软的读者，请止步。
Our 6th day of Kenya Safari started just like all the other days: an early morning ride into the savanna. Truthfully, things were getting boring. We were getting visual saturation of gazelles, zebras, giraffes. Yes, and buffalos. After we encountered a large herd of buffalos, we decided that it was time to call it this morning. We were well on our way to return to our camp, when our guide Leko pointed out a lone buffalo in the distance, probably lost from the herd. Leko mumbled to us that if the buffalo was spotted by lions, the lions would attack it.
和往常一样， 今天早上我们一大早出去看动物。 说句实话， 动物看到这会儿也觉得差不多了。晃悠了几个小时以后， 我们看到了一大群水牛。水牛有什么好看的？ 按现今的话说一点都不养眼。 我们跟导游说，回营地吧。 一两分钟以后， 我们看见远处有一只像是走丢了的单独水牛。 导游有点自言自语地说， 这水牛要是被狮子看见了，一定会遭殃的。
No sooner than he said this, he all of sudden shouted 'look, a group of lions are running toward the buffalo'.
话音未落，导游突然大喊：“快看，一群狮子正朝着水牛冲过去了”
We couldn't believe our eyes: a group of lions are attacking the lone buffalo right in front of us. This was 11:08AM.
我们简直不敢相信自己的双眼： 一群狮子开始 向这只水牛发起进攻。 这时候的时间是11：08
The leading lion jumped onto the buffalo within a split of second.
转瞬之间， 打头的狮子已经跳到了水牛身上。
The buffalo shook off the lion and started to run toward us.
水牛把狮子从身上甩掉，然后开始向我们这边逃跑。
She got jumped on by a lion second time, and shook it off again.
狮子再一次跳到水牛身上，但是又被甩了下来。
The lions were determined not to let a meal slip away.
狮子们穷追不舍，哪能让到嘴的美餐溜掉！
This time, three lions jumped onto the buffalo together.
这一次三只狮子都跳到了水牛后背。
The entire pride of 10 lions arrived.
整个狮子群，一共10只，这时候都赶到了。
Video of lions jumping on the buffalo
狮子开始攻击水牛的视频。
After a few minutes of group attack by the lions, the buffalo finally collapsed.
在整群狮子的轮番攻击下， 几分钟后，水牛终于倒下了。
The lions started to bite into the buffalo's abdomen.
狮子们开始撕咬水牛的腹部。
But the buffalo continued to struggle with her legs kicking the lions.
水牛仍然在挣扎。
At this moment, one of the bigger lioness started to bite into the buffalo's nostrils with the obvious attempt to suffocate the buffalo. Local time 11:17AM.
这时，一只最大的母狮子用嘴咬住水牛的鼻孔， 显然是想将水牛窒息。 此时时间11：17.
Video of one lioness biting buffalo's nostril while other lions continued to bite into buffalo's abdomen.
录像： 母狮子咬住水牛的鼻孔。 与此同时， 其它狮子继续撕咬水牛的腹部。
Amazingly, the buffalo stood up while the large lioness still hanged on to her nostrils.
出人意料地，水牛突然站了起来， 此时母狮子子仍然咬住了它的鼻孔。
She shook off the lions on her back, and dragged the two lions hanging on her head for several meters. Talking about the last fight at the death door.
水牛把它后背上的狮子都甩了下来， 并且拖着两个死咬住它的鼻子的狮子，走了好几米。 生死关头，最后一搏。
The buffalo continued this fight while being suffocated for a total 2 minutes.
水牛就这样在被窒息的状况下，连续抗争了两分钟。
Video of buffalo standing up while dragging two lions hanging onto its nose.
视频：水牛把它后背上的狮子都甩了下来， 并且拖着两个死咬住它的鼻子的狮子
She finally gave in to hypoxia.
水牛最终轰然倒下。
This lioness continued with the death grip with her powerful jaws to make sure the buffalo was dead.
与此同时，母狮子仍然死咬住水牛的鼻孔， 确保它绝对断了气。
She finally released her bite from the nostrils at 11:34AM, after an unbelievable 17 minutes death grip. What a tenacious beast. The buffalo put up a good fight with 10 lions for 28 minutes.
11点34分, 母狮子终于松了口。这一口咬了17分钟。 水牛和10只狮子抗争了28分钟， 但是终究抵挡不过凶狠顽强的狮子。
The vultures were gathering for their chance to scavenge.
秃鹫们开始聚集， 等待它们吃残羹剩饭的机会。
Six hours later, we returned to the site. The lions have consumed the entire abdominal organs.
六个小时以后我们回到原地。 此时狮子们已经把水牛的整个腑脏消灭干净了。
Most of the lions were sleeping, probably from the exhaustion of killing a strong buffalo and from a feast. A few of them were still gnawing at the carcass.
多数狮子这会儿正在酣睡， 有几只狮子仍然在啃水牛的残骸。
There must be something tasty inside the abdominal cavity of the buffalo; this lion stayed inside for a good 5-10 minutes.
水牛的肚子里面一定还有什么佳肴，这只狮子在里面呆了至少有5分钟。
Jackal and vulture were gathering for their share.
豺狼和秃鹫在等它们的机会。
Hyenas are never far away from any carcass.
鬣狗们是从来不会放过任何残骸的。
In fact, with their special howling, tens of hyenas were joining forces to harass the lions.
听到自己同伴的嚎叫，几十只鬣狗开始聚集在这里，准备骚扰狮子。
Lions repeatedly chased the hyenas away to protect their kill.
狮子们这时候还不示弱，几次起来赶走骚扰的鬣狗。
All the lions were now circling the buffalo.
狮子们把水牛围起来， 保护自己的胜利果实。
Video: hyenas harassing lions
视频：鬣狗骚扰狮子
Vulture was ready as well.
秃鹫也跃跃欲试了。
While we were there, the hyenas staged three rounds of harassment to the lions, and each time they were chased away by the protecting lions. At this point, the hyenas settled down to gather more troops. The air was filled with eerie and unrelenting howling of hyenas. In the last dim and fading light, we could see shadows of hyenas converging to the area. We set out to return to our camp, wondering what would happen tonight here.......
这天傍晚，我们一共看到鬣狗们组织了三次进攻，每次都在狮子的反击下败退下来。 此时此刻，鬣狗们感到没有机会战胜狮子， 决定再调兵遣将，组织更大的进攻。 草原上鬣狗撕心裂肺的嚎叫此起彼伏。在昏暗的黄昏时分， 我们隐约看见更多的鬣狗从四面八方，朝着这个方向汇集。 黑暗中我们打道回营， 估计今天晚上 这里不会安宁........
..... Next morning, we came to see what was left of the huge buffalo that fought with 10 lions for more than 20 minutes. All we saw was part of the scalp with the horns and part of the spine still attached. A few ribs were scattered around.
..... 第2天清晨， 我们回到原地， 看看昨天和10只狮子奋战了20多分钟的水牛还剩下多少。 我们能看到的，仅仅是水牛的头骨，加上它的犄角和一部分脊柱。 有几条肋骨散落在草原上。
According to our guide Leko, the most likely scenario was that during the night, hundreds of hyenas joined forces and staged assault on the lions. The lions had to retreat, leaving the carcass behind for the hyenas to wipe out all the meat and almost all the bones!
根据导游介绍，估计昨天夜里上百只鬣狗聚集在一起，向狮子们发起进攻。 狮子们抵挡不住只好撤退。 鬣狗们在一夜之间将一只水牛几乎连骨头都没有剩下吃了一干二净。
We felt dumbfounded that, within 20 hours, a buffalo weighing more than 1000 pounds essentially evaporated from the earth. The nature sometimes is so ruthless. Based on our guide's experience, the probability of witnessing the heart pounding process of lions taking down buffalo in a given day is 1/800. We are still amazed at our good luck.
真难想象1000多斤重的水牛一夜之间变得几乎无影无踪。自然界有时就是这么无情。根据导游的经历，每天亲眼看到狮子捕杀水牛的几率是1/800。至今，我们仍然难以相信我们会有如此好运。
