The next 30 minutes or so showed the value of both our guides' local knowledge and tracking skills as we made our way in the four wheel drive through the scrub until we finally came across the group on a giraffe kill.
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Early morning in Botswana in July, 2009,
near Savuti Channel in the Okavango Delta and a group
of lions had chased and killed a giraffe. Our guide had
observed some lion tracks near the water's edge and from this,
and the puddles of water on the bank, deduced that the lions
had crossed through the water only a few minutes before us. The next 30 minutes or so showed the value of both our guides' local knowledge and tracking skills as we made our way in the four wheel drive through the scrub until we finally came across the group on a giraffe kill. |
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From the tracks we know that the lions had located and given chase to some zebras but were unable to catch them. Good fortune for the zebra but bad luck for giraffe. The lions chased, brought down and killed, a heavily pregnant female, presumably with her extra weight she was the slowest. Bringing down an adult giraffe is no easy matter for lions. The giraffe as it runs flicks its hooves out and can cause serious injury to a lion. The first photograph tells part of the story, the claw marks on the rump of the giraffe show how the lions have jumped into the rear and back of their prey to drag it down. Having made the kill, the lions then commence by eating at the crutch of the animal and by opening up the abdomen to get at the internal organs. In this case opening up the abdomen also allowed the lions to drag away the unborn calf. Just out of frame to the right, other lions were feeding on the calf which appeared to be fully developed and probably not far away from being born. |
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From memory the group consisted of 11
lions, 9 males and 2 females, all of them sub
adults. Some of the males display the early stages
of growing manes. Whilst a pride will consist of one,
possibly two adult males, with a collection of females and
the resulting cubs. Males, whether sub adults as
in this
case, or adults without a pride, will sometimes
form
coalitions, cooperating in hunting and hence improving their
chances of surviving. It's long been believed that within a pride, the females will do the bulk of the hunting with the male or males playing little if any part. Recent research and observation suggest however that males may be more heavily involved in hunting activity than previously thought. |
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