When you set off for a safari, you would like to see the real wild life. Real life is not only about snoozing elephants, grazing wildebeests, or monkeys jumping around trees playfully. Somewhere deep inside, you also want to witness some action, some excitement: a hunt, a fight. I know it sounds cruel, but it is the part of the life cycle. It’s not for our entertainment, but it’s according to the rules of the wilderness.
So while we were driving around the pastures in the Serengeti or in the Ngorongoro crater, all of us hoped to glimpse a cloud of dust, a sudden rush, or some disturbing noise somewhere. When we were watching a group of zebras, our secret wish was to see a hungry lion appearing on the horizon. We even had so early morning drives that it was still dark when we had breakfast, and we were already out when the sun broke it through with its first rays. It was to catch the morning “rush hour”, when animals wake up hungry, and go to get their breakfast.
I’m going to spoil the story now: we haven’t seen any actual kills, but we were lucky to see several “just-after-hunt” scenes, and a couple of fights within herds. I’ve collected these memorable moments of my safari here. So let’s have a look at these now, starting with the less cruel and the less bloody ones.
- Fighting impalas
- Fighting elephants
- An exhausted lion after the hunt with its prey
- Lions munching on a wildebeest in the shade of a bush
- A jackal trying to get close to the wildebeest babies
- A hyena after some bloody business
- Family feast at the lion’s…
…where even an uninvited guest, a jackal appears hoping for some delicious leftovers:
- Be wary if the lion comes
As we saw, life is not always joyful, especially not in the wilderness. Animals have to fight to survive, they have to be vigilant all the time either to be able to catch something, or not to be caught. They also have to fight for their positions within the herd, within their own society. We need to be really lucky to see the animals in action when we go on a game drive, so I’m really grateful that I had the chance to witness some great moments of their life.