A view to a kill…with apologies to Ian Flemming

April 1, 2015

2444

After a recent photographic workshop with Roger and Pat de la Harpe,

I decided to re-edit some of my recent images from a trip to Kruger National Park.
(To find out more about the courses they offer,
visit their website and subscribe to the newsletter.
www.rogerandpatdelaharpe.com
To marvel at the work they produce,
www.africanimagery.com)

I return to this lodge in the Kruger National Park

Neither the ranger nor the tracker spotted 007 skulking in the bushes.
At this particular point they had not found the lions either,
although they had found their tracks.

The peacefully flowing Sabie River,
where the drama was about to unfold

Just to prove how quickly things can change in the bush.

This might not be the best image of a Bushbuck…

but it was alive when I first spotted it.

Just a few hours later, and I get to see it again.

This time as a meal for a lioness and her son.

With apologies to Ian Flemming,
we now has a view to a kill.
Something that not every visitor to a game reserve gets to see.

Yes it might be gory, but so is YOUR meat when you but it fresh from a butchery.

Here the predators tend to cut out the middle man
and the packaging!

This young male was lying hidden in the grass
behind where our vehicle stopped.
He had obviously had more than his fair share of the spoils.
Considering that a male Buskbuck weighs in at almost 80-100kg,
there was more than enough for mom and son

“I can watch you AND eat at the same time”…

“Or I can just WATCH you”.

“You are NOT going to take this away from me”!

The following morning,

these Vultures indicated that the kill was still close by.

Not only were the pair of lions still in the vicinity,

but we were able to see the rest of the “Big 5”

all within less than a km radius of the kill.

This female leopard was the closest…
I spotted her as we were leaving the scene.
The lioness was intent on making certain that this rival predator
did not get to share in the kill.

Followed by these two elderly buffalo males,
who were sunning themselves out of harms way on the far bank

The Elephants were on a mission to get to the river

And this rhino was intent on having an early morning meal.

As night falls it is time to head back to the lodge
and share our tales with the other guests…
All these images were taken during my hosted visit to
Narina, Lion Sands, Kruger National Park.
To find out more about Narina,
visit
http://www.lionsands.com/our-lodges/narina-lodge-kruger-national-park/
or, to find out about their other properties,
http://www.more.co.za/