Lion snatches newborn zebra from its mother

Lion snatches newborn zebra from its mother minutes after the tiny foal struggles to its feet in heartbreaking footage

  • WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT 
  • Mckenna Wentworth, 30, recorded the clip while on a safari in south-west Kenya
  • She recorded the 30-minute encounter from just 100-feet away 
  • The lion pounced on its prey before piercing its neck and killing the newborn foal

A lion was caught on camera snatching a newborn zebra from its mother before killing the helpless foal within moments of it struggling to its feet for the first time.  

The brutal footage was captured by Mckenna Wentworth while travelling on a safari in south-west Kenya with her parents.

The 30-year-old, from Minnesota, USA, recorded the 30-minute encounter from just 100-feet away as the lion pounced on its prey before piercing its neck.

In the clip, the mother zebra can be seen standing in the middle of a field beside its newborn foal, which is lying on the ground, with a herd of wildebeest in the background.

The 70-pound baby slowly emerges from its amniotic sac before struggling to its feet.

It takes its first tentative steps before just minutes later the lion suddenly bounds into shot and heads straight for the helpless newborn.

It bites down on the foal’s neck and pierces it with its four-inch-long teeth.

The newborn goes limp before the lion drags its prize away to the audible gasps of onlookers. 

The brutal footage, which saw the lion pounce on the newborn, was captured by Mckenna Wentworth while travelling on a safari in south-west Kenya with her parents


The mother zebra can be seen standing in the middle of a field beside its newborn foal, which is lying on the ground, with a herd of wildebeest in the background

Speaking about the event, Mckenna said: ‘I fully understand the circle of life and that everyone has to eat, but the way the lion just walked up and broke the zebra’s neck was brutal.

‘I was in complete shock. I’m a huge animal person and I’m also a vegetarian. The idea of seeing anything die is just heart-breaking.

‘It all started when we noticed from a distance that some other animals were acting strange, so our tour guide drove closer and we saw that the mother zebra was in labour.

‘You could actually see her contractions because of the stripes on her body moving.

‘Our tour guide was pretty sure that the lion would leave the new-born zebra alone as we had previously seen the lions mating and he told us they don’t often hunt after mating.

Just minutes later the lion suddenly bounds into shot and heads straight for the helpless newborn

It bites down on the foal’s neck and pierces it with its four-inch-long teeth before dragging its prize away to the audible gasps of onlookers

‘The lion waited about thirty minutes, but he just couldn’t resist and walked right up and ate the baby.

‘I was mesmerised by how young the baby was, yet it still had the instinct to attempt to run away from the lion.

‘The mother zebra walked back to where the placenta sack was and cried a cry that will haunt me forever.

‘It was the most heart-breaking thing I have seen. it was really emotionally heavy, and we pretty much ended the safari for that day.’

Zebras have one of the longest gestation periods of any mammal in the animal kingdom with the average female being pregnant for just under 13 months and only giving birth to one foal. 

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