Some of the lions looked like young males, although I couldn’t be sure. If they’re young, they’re inexperienced. But they must have been pretty confident–or hungry–to go after a Cape buffalo calf with so many adults around. Those guys are tough . . . as these lions discovered.
I don’t know about the calf. Although it didn’t seem to have been hamstrung, it sure got chewed on, and cat saliva is nasty stuff. Crocodile is probably just as bad. If the calf didn’t go septic in the next few days, it’d be all right, but it’s anyone’s guess how that went.