Gone in less than 60 seconds.

 

 

This post contains graphic images and might not be suitable for sensitive readers.

It started as just a regular game drive as our vehicle rolled through the gate of the camp that my wife and I stayed at recently, however did not remain that way for long.

“Good morning all stations, any updates”? queried our guide. In response, the radio crackled but remained silent.

“Seems like we are the first ones out this morning, and the early bird catches the worm,” he said with his trademark laugh.

“We will head to a nearby dam to see what might be there and then we will bumble on” was the plan of action for the beginning of the drive.

 

 

 

Arriving at the dam I saw that there was a small pod of hippos and what appeared to be an enormous crocodile already in residence.

Morning game drives invariably begin quietly as guests are still surfacing from being woken at a time that many are not used to.

But the calm and peaceful nature of all on our vehicle was about to be shattered in a most spectacular and unexpected manner.

Just as we were about to move off, the radio burst into life… “There are Wild Dogs on the way to the dam”! 

It was that single line that was to unleash a series of events that seemed to take forever, but in reality, took less than 5 seconds and cost the lives of not one but two impalas.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that there was a female impala headed for the dam with an 8-strong pack of wild dogs hot on her heels.

Photographers are there to record events, not to change them and knowing what might occur, I was already focused on the croc.

 

 

 

To the fleeing impala, the water seemed to be her best option, little did she know that her destiny with death lay within the murky waters of the dam and not being caught by the pack of wild dogs.

She hit the water without breaking stride and her splashing as she tried to reach the safety of the far bank attracted the attention of the crocodile languishing near the middle of the dam. Launching itself at the struggling antelope, it covered the distance to the intended prey in a heartbeat and the impala’s fate was sealed in the snapping of jaws as predator and prey vanished beneath the surface.

Given that this had taken but a few seconds, all of us in the vehicle were in a state of shock, including my wife who turned to me, ashen-faced, and said in a hushed tone “What the hell just happened”!

 

 

 

The large male hippo had tried to reach the impala before the crocodile, but his efforts were in vain. 

 

 

 

He and the pod reverted to what they had been doing mere minutes earlier except there was now a level of loud bellowing and agitation emanating from them.

 

 

 

Once we had calmed down and perceived that the immediate excitement was over, or so we thought, our guide decided to follow the pack and see how they were responding to losing out on an early morning meal.

“What just happened to my breakfast”? seemed to be what this Wild Dog was pondering. But it knew better than to try and follow the impala into the now thrashing water.

 

 

 

The dogs had started to regrouped, as dogs do after an unsuccessful hunt, to ‘discuss’ what had occurred and what their Plan B might be.

 

 

 

A young hyena had attached itself to the pack, and they seemed  to be comfortable having it around, given that often dogs will turn on hyenas and chase them away, which was not the case in this instance.

Should there have been a successful outcome to the hunt, the hyena might have either tried to snatch the entire carcass or may have been satisfied to just follow and accept scraps.

Given the fact that impala was no longer on the menu, the dogs were agitated but relaxed as we sat in our game viewer in the middle of the pack watching them interact with each other and occasionally looking in our direction.

The radio was now alive with other vehicles wanting to approach the sighting of the Wild Dogs, so we decided that heading back to the dam to see if we could spot the croc and its prey was a better option than sharing a sighting with a multitude of vehicles.

 

 

 

We found both in a smaller pool adjacent to the main dam, well away from the vocal pod of hippos, but now under the watchful eyes of this group of Water Thick Knees. These birds were patrolling the shoreline just in front of the croc, seemingly interested in what was unfolding in the water just a short distance from them, safe in the knowledge that would NOT be on the menu.

 

 

 

Did you know?

Crocodiles cannot chew prey as their jaws only work to open and close and not sideways, so they have to take hold of the prey, roll and shake them violently and in this way tear off pieces that can then be swallowed whole.

 

 

 

This is what ‘our’ croc was doing and it was at this point that all on board the vehicle realized that the impala had been pregnant and the croc was now busy ingesting the unborn foetus, right before our very eyes. The vehicle went quiet as we all took in what was happening.

 

 

 

Life and death in the early morning light.

 

 

 

With blood running down its jaws, the croc raised itself out of the water to finish off the meal, knowing that this was just an appetizer and that it still had the adult impala for the main meal.

 

 

 

As the meal vanished down the throat of this almost prehistoric beast, we sat in shocked silence at what had unfolded in mere minutes.

Crocodiles as a species have been around for 85 million years and nothing in the way they hunt or eat prey has altered over all those millennia.

And although a later leopard sighting was voted the highlight of the drive, it was this interaction that caused the most discussion on the vehicle and continued when we returned to the lodge.

 

 

 

The following morning we returned to the dam to find the croc in the same spot that we had left it. This time, when it raised its head above the water, we could all see the remnants of the impala hanging from its jaws.

Whether it is death on land or in the water, as in this case, this is what occurs in the African bush regularly.

It does not matter to the predators if there are humans to witness these events, all that matters is that they can find a meal to sustain themselves.

We, as intruders into their territory, cannot be judgmental of their need to kill, but can only silently bear witness to these events as they unfold. 

If I was to be anthropomorphic, I suppose I could say that being taken by the croc was the quicker death for the impala, and for that, we watching humans were grateful.

Just another day in Africa? Perhaps for the wildlife, but certainly NOT for those watching from the safety of the vehicle.

A sighting that left an indelible mark on those who were witness to it.

 

 

 

4 nights at our favourite camp in the Sabi Sands were not enough and we are already planning to return in 2023. If you want to find out more about their current specials and offers, click on the logo above to visit their website