Tough Wart Hog Takes on Lion | Wild to Know

A warthog piglet. A small snack for a big cat. A warthog. Fully grown. A big treat for a hungry hyena. But not today. Today, hyena and warthog families call a truce. Could this unnatural alliance keep their babies safe. The Okavango Delta in Botswana is in flood. Animals are on the move. The larger ones abandon the delta. Others seek precious high ground. Mounds of land, formed over thousands of years by the actions of termites. Their towers of dried mud laid the foundations for the multitude o

f islands that shape the region - and continue to do so! As the flood waters rise, spotted hyenas find the perfect termite islands to make their home. Two sisters have taken over an abandoned subterranean condo built by termite eating aardvarks. They've come to give birth in the protection of the tunnels For the cubs it's a charmed existence. That's if they survive their first few minutes of life. Newborn spotted hyenas like this one will kill a weaker sibling. They are born ready to fight,

but spotless. Their spots won't fully emerge for another few months. Despite those bone breaking teeth, independence may not come until the cub is well over a year old. That's a long time for a meat eater to rely on its mother's milk and her unwavering protection. The much maligned spotted hyenas are among the best mothers in the animal kingdom. But a mother must eat. And that means leaving her cubs. Today, prey is delivered right to the door. The hyenas could take down that warthog and eat it

alive. Yet they just stand by and watch as the hairy pigs saunters across their territory and squats at one of the entrances to the den system. Is this a hunting strategy? Trap the trusting warthog? Not advised with those tusks waiting below. Peace descends. The predators will restrain themselves from eating their new tenants. This totally implausible behavior has only recently been observed. Perhaps it is a sign of mutual respect for each other's weaponry. Or an added layer of security. Like t

he hyenas, the warthogs also inhabit the aardvarks old den to raise their young. The unlikely living arrangement between predator and prey combines the talents of two very clever species, and this alliance may help protect their young from hungry predators that trespass on the island. A male lion can smell the new tenants. The warthog is ready to divert the predator's attention away from her piglets and by proxy, the cubs. No need! The dens multiple entrances trick the lion. Danger passed. Spot

ted hyenas and warthogs emerge and the unlikely truce continues. So they may keep their babies safe until their young must face the world. While hyena young stay close to home for many months, warthog piglets leave the safety of the den when they are just 2 to 3 weeks old. There is no security alliance between hyenas and hogs beyond the aardvark tunnels. Out here other spotted predators stalk, and there are always the lions. Like magic. The piglet disappears. A lion takes advantage of the panic

. Another piglet is targeted. This time, there's no disappearing act. Cats are never too big or old to tease and play with certain prey. But it can be disconcerting when the prey protests. The piglet seems to have the lion under its spell. A happy ending for little hog? Only the lion knows ... Stranger things have happened on the termite islands of the Okavango Delta where some predators and prey live in peace, at least for now. There's more to come. Check out our Wild to Know playlist. Subscr

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