The dry sand atomized by a gust of wind that terminates in a dusty whirlwind. The hyena clan then appearing through the hazy glare from the sun setting through the mopane. The cubs awaken from their slumber after the boiling hot day and the sports begin.
The cubs have been extremely playful of late and just amazing to watch.The adults often join in the fun surrendering to their social nature. Its been another week at the hyena den and also up on the hill with Kim catching a few extra shots of him with the wild dog pups. Two nights ago we spent the night out close to Lojaan Dam, where a giraffe had died. It didn’t seem like anything killed it, probably just a natural death, but this is any predators dream find. I took along the “Bose” boombox and sounded the hyena calls at full volume.
I was amazed at the immediate response from across the valley. Leaving it at that and catching a little shut eye, it wan’t twenty minutes later that the first male hyena arrived on the scene ready to devour. He ran around scouting the area confused by the lack of other hyena presence. A nibble and a lick and he guarded the carcass until the others arrived. Nothing much happened until early morning besides one adult chewing on my car during the night. I was hoping a lion would appear or something interesting would happen, but nothing of the sort.
Sunrise came and the hyenas had barely made a dent in the carcass. A giraffe has such a thick hide, even hyenas battle to penetrate to the meat. Guided by a fresh morning breeze the vultures arrived in their hordes trying to stake their share of the carrion.
The fun then started all over again, the adults are such a laugh chasing the vultures, chasing each other up and down, basically, it was one big party for the hyenas – and they were enjoying every minute of it.
Recent Comments