Manyari and Magwaza seemed to be enjoying the peace without the males around. They had no plans on calling to find the dudes.
Instead they headed south east from Nyari pan to Banyini pan with a serious drink in mind. A poor little Water Dikkop popped up in front of Magwaza and she swatted it to the ground, then proceeded to play with the poor bird for ages. She had it under her huge paws while the little bird boldly tried to get away. Slowly she plucked a few feathers and eventually left the little bird totally maimed and partially plucked, but still alive.
What was that about lions being so cool???
Next on their menu was a baby wildebeest not more than a couple of days old. Manyari caught it and carried it away alive. Then proceeded to feed on it alive. Suddenly Magwaza arrived and the battle started. They both hung on to the calf for nearly an hour battling with each other to eat and or keep the biggest portion. They were just about under my car fighting over the kill. It was a terrible angle to film from so I got out the car on a bean bag to film them. It was a most awesome angle and the stuff I got in slow motion was really stunning. But I had to do it with the 2 lionesses no more than 10ft away from me, Magwaza giving me the eyeball every now and then.
The girls were totally exhausted from hanging on to the kill that when they broke away they rested about half an hour panting away before feeding. And then slept the rest of the night.
Mark and I went flying at dawn as the conditions were really great to shoot aerials but it wasn’t long that the clouds set in and ruined it all.
Hi Kim - That was torture to watch.And sheer torture for that poor little bugger. So cute and cuddly these lions……………
I think it is true predator behaviour. Trying to rationalise it or getting upset just doesn’t get us anywhere. For example, I love Orcas, amazingly intelligent animals but there are vivid examples of them practically torturing seal pups along Argentina’s sea shores.
And if anyone has seen aerial views ( BBC series)of how they kill whale calves, it is planned kill with meticulous detail and they enjoy it. They can take it down easy, but no, they will make the young of the pod, ram their heads into it’s sdies………..just teaching.
I’m well aware of ‘Nature Red in Tooth and Claw’. Have seen the BBC film you refer to. As a ‘Higher sentient being’ that doesn’t mean I can’t understand all this but still feel for their victims.
Well, if you talk to animal conservationists, they would say it is all in the semantics. People who eat meat, though on a higher logical plane, are similar to predators. We have just moved the part where we “kill” them humanely (e.g, electric shock) out of our view. We, as you very rightfully said, ‘higher sentient beings’, aught to be responsible for what happens.
While directly observing wildlife in nature, first rule taught to most naturalists now is don’t take sides, don’t interfere.
I wonder, Ayesha, if you have ever witnessed something truly, earth shatteringly, sad. Or do you persuade yourself this is how to feel? You can surely not say that clip was emotive? If you can, you have lost something inside and maybe you need to come to Africa where emotions are raw, rough and real, and not words on a page, over-analysed and reduced to telling other people how to handle them. I have witnessed a number of kills, and I fully appreciate the whys and wherefores, but I have never lost the sense of having witnessed something important had just happened. Let Roy think what he wants to, it has naught to do with you.
I don’t think I am telling Roy how to think, but giving him a different perspective to look at the same thing.
You think that probably Africa is the only place where emotions are raw…….well, that is too much of a presumption.
I am a scientist, and my subjects are actually humans. I am very well aware of the whys and whereofs.
And yes, actually witnessing ‘truly,earth shatteringly, sad’ things taught me how to look at them objectively and where emotions if not checked, cloud the judgement and later outcome. It is a painful exercise.
But………..to each their own.
I agree with AyeshaH re our killing of animals - I believe we should not eat animals unless we would ultimately be prepared to do so personally and have in fact done so personally. That does not mean that I cannot feel for a mouse being played with by a domestic cat and view such behaviour as natural if unneccesary unless it is a mother teaching kittens.
Did I say anything about interfering ? I am fully aware of the first rule of Naturalists. In my view that does not prohibit taking an emotional side. It seems to me that even Kim expresses regret about the situation re the bird when he says that its only mistake was to move. And, lets face it, Kim gets pretty emotional about his dogs!
Without any of us knowing each other personally we are all bound to make a lot of assumptions about each other. No matter, its an interesting debate! And one assumption I think we can all make about each other is that we are all passionate about wildlife.
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Nice read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing some research on that. And he just bought me lunch since I found it for him smile Therefore let me rephrase that: Thank you for lunch!