At dusk Khayeni was close to where she had her second-last kill, in the tree, but it wasn’t there. There were vultures in the trees around and several hyaenas were feeding on the remains of it. Yes you wonder how they fit it in and even fight over it, when only hours before they had finished a whole zebra stallion.
I don’t know how the hyaenas got the carcass. Did Khayeni drop it by mistake while feeding or did the vultures get to it and it drop while they were feeding?
With Khayeni well fed after 2 busy days we left her for the night to head south after other possible action.
Eventually we picked up the Nduna pride near Chipinyuluzi pan on the move north. They moved in their normal fits and starts. But then sleep overcame us and we lost them as they snuck away from one of their little resting periods.
In the cold we moved up to Bandama pan hoping they might come out there, and spent the rest of the night at the pan.
Dawn saw us in search again for the lions. They had moved a long way north and were still on the move when we got to them. But shortly afterwards they passed out.
While we waited with them a herd of zebra, moving in single file, were headed slap bang into the pride. The lions all froze in their ready to pounce positions. But then the stallion, who was leading, sensed something. He might have seen the lions but just wasn’t sure. Without an alarm snort, he slowly diverted this herd to the west and they moved on still not aware that they had averted danger.
And damn! No kill for me!
It’s not that I want to see the poor zebra die, but I’m always hungry for action! And if the zebra got away having given the lions a good few body blow kicks, then that would have been even better.
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