The Lion King trailer made life as the King of the Jungle look pretty glamorous. But a video clip released last week that’s since earned millions of views shows real life is a lot tougher.
Footage from the BBC series Dynasties, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, shows Red, a male lion, stumbling into a pack of 20 hyenas. One-on-one, a hyena has zero chance against a full-grown lion, but a pack of 20 at once has Red whirling around trying to keep them off his flanks while attempting to go on the attack himself.
It looks like the hyenas might have landed themselves a mane feast — when something happens that gives this clip an unexpected ending.
The clip has earned more than 5 million views in just five days. It’s quickly joined the ranks of such Attenborough-narrated animal clips as “baby iguana fleeing killer snakes” and “giraffe kicks lioness in the face.” Nature is indeed a lot harsher than any Disney flick.