They say that the lion is King of the Jungle.  There is no doubt that the lioness is the perfectly equipped killing machine.  

Inside each paw are four razor sharp claws and her foreleg has a hooked claw to grip her prey.  She has strong, sharp teeth, and a jaw that can support her own weight as she clings to her prey. As for strength, the lion has powerful muscles and can sprint 10 metres in six seconds - at 130 kilograms she packs a lethal punch.  Add sensitive ears, and an acute sense of smell to excellent night vision, and you have the most powerful and feared hunter. The final terrifying ingredient: lions have mastered the art of co-operative hunting.

So the lion rules, or does it?  One of the best known game reserves in the world is the Kruger National Park in South Africa.  So powerful is the lion as a hunter that we might expect it to dominate the area. Yet, the most recent census count of animal populations in the park estimated that there are 1500 lion. Let’s compare the lions score: lions 1,500, wildebeest 15,000; lions 1,500, buffalo 30,000; lions 1,500, zebra 32,000.  However, not even the zebra is the winner in terms of numbers.  The champion of the Kruger Park by a very long margin is the humble impala, with a score of lions 1,500, impala 160,000. 

 No sharp claws, no significant teeth, rather spindly legs, the impala beats the lion by over 100 to 1: for every lion there are 100 impala.

 So what makes the impala’s record so great?  The graceful impala is a slender, medium sized antelope with a coat colouration that provides excellent camouflage.  It is fleet of foot:  when in danger, impalas will explode in a magnificent spectacle of leaping, jumping up to 3 metres into the air from a standing start. While running, they can cover up to 9 metres in a single bound. In their zig-zag leaps, they often jump over and across their companions. It has good hearing and its eyes are placed on the side of its head to enhance all round vision.  It looks for the slightest movement and listens for the faintest sound: once alerted it will be gone. All these abilities help impalas confuse and escape predators. And it is careful, very, very careful. 

I like to think of the FMCG sector as the metaphorical impalas of the business jungle.  Not as large, powerful and exciting as the metaphorical lions of the other sectors, but much more numerous and, like the impala, absolutely essential to the economic well being of the community.

 Howard Turvey MD Proteus Software

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For further information please call Howard on +44 (0) 121 717 7474 or email moreinfo@proteussoftware.com