Author: Focus Online Dev

Wow what an extraordinary month August has been, amazing sightings were abundant, I got to experience a very special sighting for only the second time in 4 years and even the weather is warming up nicely with only the August winds bringing the temperature down every now and again.

Like I said there were so many great sightings this month that it is difficult to choose between the best ones and I would rather wright about all of them, but I would spare you a few days in front of the computer and rather just tell you about a few really, really amazing sightings.

Well technically this was not one sighting we experienced but a whole day of excitement.  I had a group in camp for 6 days and for a bit of change to the routine, I decided to take them out for day drive.  So that morning we got to lay in a bit and only got up to have breakfast at 8 o’clock and bumbled out of the lodge around 9 o’clock, lunch packed and ready for action.  My plan of action during a day drive is usually waterhole hopping, I drive from one waterhole to the next, hoping for the animals to come and quench their thirst during the heat of the day.  The first waterhole we stop by luck was already on our side as we found the 3 Chimbro males sleeping under a Buffalo Thorn tree.  Of course knowing that during the day they would have ample opportunities to hunt as unsuspecting animals came down for a drink.  We also didn’t have to wait long before some impala made their way to the water and one of the males taking an interest in them.  Out in the bush there are very few things that build suspense like lions stalking their pray.  Unfortunately for the lion the terrain was a bit to open and the impala spotted him and bolted before he even got close to them.

We then headed off to go and find the 4 male cheetahs that were found earlier that morning, and I was hoping they would still be in that area.  Luckily for us they killed a young wildebeest and were still feeding when we found them.  Not long after we arrived they had their fill and left a portion of the wildebeest untouched to go and have a rest in the shade.  This left a hyena that was in the area with a stunned expression on his face as he realized Christmas came early for him and he quickly made off with the leftovers.

I then set sail for the dark and unknown part of Madikwe, the east.  Legend has it that many a guide from the South has left for the East and gotten so horribly lost that they never again returned.  Again I have a strategy when driving in the East, get lost as quickly as possible so that you have more time to find your way out.  The biggest dilemma of course is if you have to call in a sighting in on the radio in the east, because 99% of the time you don’t know which road you are on, this of course is due to a glitch in the earth’s magnetic field, causing compasses and maps in the east to malfunction, completely.  This particular day drive I don’t just stumble upon an animal, I stumble upon THE animal….. If you ever want to see a Land Cruiser go from 25km/h in a forward momentum to 80km/h in a backward momentum let a guest yell out, “what is that thing in the tree”.  To be honest, a rather interesting experience.  Well there he was in a tree, 10m away from the vehicle sleeping in a tree.  We spent an amazing 30 or 40 minutes with this relaxed leopard and watched as he eventually came down the tree and walked around, before going to bed in some thick bush, a day drive well worth remembering.

The sighting that stood out well above the other sightings this month is the evening we spent some time with the Mica Jamala females and their cubs of around 2 years.  I joined the sighting just as dusk was setting in, in hope that the lions would give us an African serenade.  All eight big cats were still out for the count but slowly started showing signs of life. Until the one female got up and started walking up the road with the other lions reluctantly following her lead.

We suspected the lions might be on their way to a waterhole a 1km or 2 up the road and decided to follow them as they were leisurely strolling up the road.  A few hundred meters further the lions must have heard or smelt something of interest to the west of them.  They all stopped and listened and you could feel the tension in the air as they were constructing battle plans.  Now one of the great mysteries to me is how does these lions communicate their plans to each other, for it did not take long before the eldest of the females and some of the younger males disappeared into the brush, leaving 2 adult females on the road in front of us crouching low so as to stay out of sight.  We knew the hunt was on and now it was just a matter of time and buckets full of patience.

So there we were, under the African sky, and with every shooting star passing over head, wishing that we would see a kill.  We sat in the dark so as not to interfere with the hunt, with only the occasional flash of the spot light to see if the lionesses were still in front of us on the road.  In one such flash we could see a zebra crossing the road a little bit further up from where the lionesses were on the road and the atmosphere just got a little bit more intense.  After almost an hour of waiting the night silence was shattered by panicked hoof beats, the lions made their move.  No more than ever we could not switch on the light so as not to blind the fleeing zebras.  The eldest female and young males obviously flanked the zebras and were chasing them straight towards the waiting lionesses on the road…and us.  Sitting in darkness hearing hoof beats thundering closer is a rather humbling experience.  The zebras are close to the road and still running, then a whole new chapter of chaos ensues as the two waiting lionesses spring into action, one can hear zebra’s crashing in all direction with a new burst of speed as they come to terms with the lioness’s ambush.  Zebras are thundering across the road 100m or less in front of us.  Just to make sure there are no zebras running towards the car I give a quick flash with the spot light and illuminate 2 lionesses in hot pursuit of a young zebra and heading our way.  Not to disadvantage the zebra on lions I quickly turned off the spot light and a split second later there are shrieks next to the car.  Light back on.  The lions have caught up to the zebra and trying to fight it down a mere 6 or 7 meters from the vehicle.  We watched in awe as the zebra is brought down and quickly dispatched.  The other participants in the hunt quickly join in to try and get their share of the meal.  After a while we call it a night and turn back for home, a little bit speechless, a little bit shocked, but in a lot of awe for the amazing natural scene that just played off in front of us.

With the rains still a distant dream, Tlou dam is as busy as ever and one can almost be guaranteed of amazing sightings of elephants and buffalo at the dam.

Well folks that is all from us, for this month, I’m sure September would have a lot of great sightings in store for us, so make sure to book yourself a room at Tuningi.

Hope to see you soon.

Kind regards,

Christo and the T-Team.

 

A warm winters welcome to all our Tuningi Fans !!

Winter is at its peak now here in the Madikwe game reserve, and our mornings are chilling, but fresh as we leave on our morning safari, but never fear… we have our game drive vehicles equipped with piping hot water bottles to combat the worst of the chill factor.

The coffee served in the lodge just before we depart also warms one up from the inside, as us rangers conjure up our masterful plan as we decide which of the magnificent 7 we will choose to go and find for you today.

Once you are out there it is all worth the effort, as the sunrises are something out of this world, with the early birdsong serenading your ears amongst the distant roar of our resident male lion. At this point we swing into action and determine where the Naledi male might be, and so the search begins…..

It is not long before we find his tracks heading south, and looks as if he is alone on a territory patrolling mission.

We find him after some time spent tracking him, but he is tired, resting in a comfy grassy patch, just enjoying the warmth of the rising sun. At this point he bellows out one of the most amazing sounds you will ever hear in the African bush which will give you goose bumps as he roars to his maximum power.

Our Naledi male however is under huge threat at the moment, as there are two different coalitions of males trying to challenge him for his prime patch of bushveld. The Younger coalition of 3 males, the Chimbro and Bafefo males, as well as the two Kwandwe males are making regular incursions into his territory now, and we fear it wont be long before we have a new authority here on the ridge.

Above you can see the Chimbro male with one of the Mica females on a wildebeest kill, and shows that they are seriously intent on taking over the Naledi males’ females and territory !!

W e always tend to also always write about the predators and we sometimes forget about the rest of the amazing things you can see in the bush, such as our very special rhinos.

Our rhinos are doing extremely well in the park, and even with the current rhino poaching situation in South Africa, they are flourishing here in Madikwe, probably due to the most amazing people on the ground everyday looking after them, and making sure that a poacher will never set foot in this land we call home !!

We do however have a huge responsibility to ensure that they will remain safe here in Madikwe, and if you would like to contribute to this cause please feel free to contact us at the lodge for more information. The park has an account set up especially for Madikwe, and any donations of any kind are all appreciated.

We also had an amazing sighting of a serval this month !!

This is a sight that made my year so far, as we don’t get to see them that often, in fact it is only the 8^th time in 8 years that I got see one, and this female was incredibly relaxed with the vehicles, as we followed her for some time through the long grasslands where she likes to hunt for mice and small mammals.

The always smiling elephants are providing some amazing sightings at the waterholes, especially at the lodge where you are almost guaranteed to be inspired by their presence around lunch time, as they come in numbers to quench their thirsts, before enjoying the therapeutic qualities of the cool mud that they love so much.

Tsala, our resident leopardess is back !!

She had been missing in action for a couple of weeks, and it was great to see her again, as we thought that she may have been killed by lions, but this is not so, and she is looking supreme and even pulled down an impala in front of us one morning showing us that she is still in large and in charge !!

Samson, the young male that we have been following now for more than a year now, seems to be setting up his territory in the Inkwe pan area south of the lodge. And is becoming a regular star with our guests as he is starting to show signs of full adulthood, exuding a power and elegance that few animals can.

Hopefully he hooks up with Tsala in the near future, and produces some cubs for us to enjoy soon !!

The Mica and Jamala pride are now 10 strong, and hungry for anything that moves !! The 4 young males in the pride are becoming adults now, and their appetite is keeping their mothers very busy, as they are having to kill more and more to satisfy the growing boys. They are pulling down some big prey, including buffalo, zebra and wildebeest, and we often get to them when they have just killed something only to find that they have finished off the carcass in quick time.

As big as they are, their need for rest is also as big, and they enjoy resting after the kill with full bellies, playing with each other to reinforce the bonds they will keep throughout their promising lives as young male lions. It probably wont be too long now, before the new coalition we spoke of earlier will force them out of the area, where they will have to learn very quickly how to hunt for themselves !!

As usual, the wild dogs AKA Painted Wolves are always fascinating to view, as they are always busy, and their high octane lives they live never seems to relent in any way.

Madikwe is one of the places in Africa to come and see them, as the are highly endangered, but are thriving in this piece of beauty that Tuningi is situated in.

We as guides always get extremely excited when they are ready to engage in a hunt mood, as they are highly efficient predators, killing 80 % of what they pursue. So they are definitely something you want to come and see and be part of !!

That’s it for this month……

See you soon !!

Regards,

Gavin and the T-Team

Well winter is definitely upon us, but Jack Frost has been kind to us this winter only baring his teeth during two cold snaps so far.  During one of these the temperature dropped to -3’C providing us with a great opportunity to view Polar Bears and Arctic Foxes in their natural environment, well not really but June did provide us with some phenomenal sightings.

With the bush all dried up and dull it is always lovely to see the flashes of bright colour provided by the vividly coloured Lilac Breasted Rollers.  Another one of my favourite birds this month was this very appropriately named Cut-Throat Finch pair.

On the lion front one of the best sightings this month was when we found the Jamala-Mica pride on the Western Airstrip lounging around in the early morning sun.  After warming themselves up they decided to move on, hoping to find some breakfast.  Luckily for the giraffes the lions weren’t too interested in them although some of the sub-adults did try their hand at hunting and sent the giraffes scattering.

After a long period of absence my favourite spotted hyena also made his appearance one morning.  His name is Fuzzy and he is the cutest spotty in Madikwe.  Anybody who does not like spotted hyenas would change their minds in a heartbeat after meeting Fuzzy.

We also did well on the leopard front this month with some really good sightings all around.  The one I am really excited about though is Samson, he is a young male that hangs around Inkwe pan and is found more and more.  This particular morning we spent some time with him and watched as he hunted and killed a francolin in front of our vehicle.

I can’t remember much of the next few seconds, but according to my guests, they have never seen someone multi task as ferousiesly as I did in that few moments.  Apparently I managed to indicate to the guests that the dogs were chasing the wildebeest towards the dam, shout at the top of my voice into the radio microphone at Cornelius, apparently in a voice ending in a shriek, that he should turn back to the dam and managing to turn the vehicle around on a fairly narrow path at high speed, all this in a flat spin of excitement.  Well what developed was one of my best wild dog sightings ever, with the dogs eventually managing to bring down their breakfast.

Well that was the end of another thrilling month in Madikwe, hopefully winter will stay as mild as it has been thus far and the sightings just as amazing.

Hope to see you at Tuningi in the near future.

Regards,

Christo and the T-team

 

Not too many words can describe what we saw this morning…

But I’ll try.

We set off this morning to go and look for the 4 Male Cheetahs in the north of Madikwe.  They were last seen moving in that direction.

On our way there we went past Tlou dam.  Not much was happening there so left.  Christo and myself took different roads away from the dam.  Out of nowhere I heard a very funny, excited voice over the radio. It was Christo shouting something; I could only make out something at the dam.

When I got there the Wild Dogs chased a wildebeest into the water.

I had been waiting a long time to experience what was going to happen around the water.

Once the wildebeest was out the water the chase was on, again!  The wildebeest tried to shield itself against Christo’s vehicle but it only worked for a while.

It then ran back into the water.  It was probably too cold and he jumped out.

Not long after that the dogs finally got hold of it and killed it.
It took the Dogs a while to kill the Wildebeest but when it was done they all enjoyed it thoroughly.  This was nature at its best!!!

Shortly after, an elephant chased the dogs off the kill but he soon moved away and the dogs continued eating.

Let the pictures tell you more.

Oh, and we found the Cheetahs as well.

Well…. May was a month of big and exciting news as far as the lions are concerned.

There is a lot of competition going on between the new younger male coalitions which are making their presence felt.

There are 3 new young males in the south called the Chimbro – Bafefo coalition, and they are around 5 years of age now and starting to show some serious adulthood in already fighting with and seriously injuring one of the Kwandwe males from the south east of the reserve.

They are also showing us that they are going to be here to stay, by scent marking the territory with passion, and vocalizing to ear-piercing volumes !!

They are even looking after themselves extremely efficiently, and are killing some very difficult prey items such as this buffalo bull, which they managed to subdue and fed on for 3 days.

Whilst feeding on this carcass one morning we witnessed one of the males pull down and kill a male impala which obviously did not see him coming as he might have been too pre-occupied with rutting duty at the time, but none the less, the agility shown in this already full bellied male lion is awesome, and proves to all that male lions can and will hunt efficiently, contrary to popular belief !!

Meanwhile the feud between the old boys on the ridge around the lodge is continuing.

The Naledi male who hangs around on the ridge close to the lodge is still intent on killing his nemesis… the Kgala male from the north west of the park, and they have been doing regular incursions into each others territories looking to stake the claim to the females and territory that comes with being the landlord of the area.

However, it always seems to be a shouting match, as they roar to each other in the early mornings coming to no physical harm as they must know that they are coming to the end of their majestical reign of power over the last 7 years.

It is going to be really interesting to see who will be their predecessors in the near future.

The Kgala Male

The Naledi Male

 

The other news from the Place we call Madikwe which translates to “ Place of Blood” is very fitting, as there have been a lot of kills been dished out as the wild dogs are once again creating havoc with the antelope kind. Their efficiency is amazing as we as rangers get extremely excited as they go on their crepuscular hunts. You have a very good chance of seeing a full hunt if you can keep up with their relentless pace, and you will be rewarded with some graphic, yet real experiences.

The 4 cheetah brothers have also been spreading some blood on the battlefields and they too are doing extremely well. They are in supreme condition at the moment and are proving no match for their prey.

Leopards have been scarce this month for some reason, as we think that Tsala our resident female might have cubs stashed away somewhere, and is acting like a ninja at the moment, we are finding her tracks, but just cant seem to locate her secret lair where she could be hiding her cubs.

The young male in the area has also been scarce, but has been seen a few times this month, but we are filling this hole by going to the east of the park where Munye has been making regular appearances and seems to be a cat that is going to give us a reliable sighting in the future.

A few notable rare sightings this month were also recorded namely a caracal and its cub which was extremely relaxed and made my year so far.

And the South pack of wild dogs chasing around a full grown giraffe for fun….

Well, that’s it for this month….

Untill next time,

Regards,

Gavin and the T-Team

 

Hallo once again!

Another month has passed with a whole lot of excitement that went with it.  The bush still looks great after the good summer rain we had.  It was not the best of time with lots of leaves and tall grass to spot animals but we still managed to get some spectacular sightings.

Since we’ve had rain, water stood all over the park but still the best spot was Tlou dam.  It didn’t matter if there were animals or not, it delivered an amazing scene.  It was also the past month that the elephants returned to the west of Madikwe.

It’s always a treat to see big herds of elephants at the dam after a hot day to quench their thirsts.

The lions on our side of the park didn’t make it easy for us to find at times but when we did after a long search it was very rewarding.

We found the pride of the south, the Bulayas on a wildebeest kill one morning quite late.  This particular morning we all drove past them earlier on because we had mist so thick we couldn’t  see 10 meters in front of us.  At this sighting there were also great interaction between Jackals, Hyenas and the lions.  The younger lions, about a year old, were very protective over the food their mothers provided and made sure the hyena clan didn’t come close.  Only the next morning when the lions were gone, the scavengers had a feast.

Our southern pack of wild dogs also led us all over with their quick and sometimes strange movement making it difficult to locate.  The temperatures have dropped considerably over the past couple of weeks so the dogs started moving much earlier than usual making it more difficult to keep track of them.  So much so that they again came to the lodge and made a kill while we were out on drive looking for them.  Thankfully we were close to still enjoy them the rest of the morning around the lodge.

It wasn’t always the big and rare things that made my guests and me excited.

One of the most exciting sightings I had this month was a Boomslang killing a chameleon.  Mostly these killings go unseen but this happened on the road in front of me.

Firstly I only noticed the snake since I do not like them very much.  Then only we saw the target.  They both moved on and off the road a few times but the last time the chameleon appeared it was in a bad way.  The snake bit it some time in the chase and waited for its Hemotoxic poison to take effect.

We were very lucky to have a sighting like that.

On some of our quieter morning drives, the thick mist made it difficult to spot things.  What was not difficult to spot was thousands of spider webs.  They were all over. On the ground, in the trees everywhere quite pretty really or it depends who you are asking.

The Cheetahs on the other hand, everyone enjoy.  It is not too often we can keep track of the four cheetah males as they move through Madikwe like they did the past couple of weeks.  From east to west and north to south they were found almost everyday teaching us a little more about their movements.

Although we are taught huge lessons about the animals’ movement every day it is still not guaranteed that we will find them again where we last left them. This of course keeps our jobs exciting and hugely interesting.

Until we see you back here again!

Kindest regards

Cornelius and the T-team

Yesterday morning we decided to look for the Wild dogs in the south of Madikwe.  We took it slow as the temperature dropped the faster we drove.  

Luckily we weren’t too far from the lodge when the call came through that the Wild dogs killed an Impala at the lodge.

It happened again…

 We charged back to get a piece of the action and as we arrived the dogs came running out of the gate.  It was about seven minutes from when I received the call and the Impala was finished.

As a result, the guests who slept in also got to see the Dogs when they had a drink at the waterhole.  After they left they killed another Impala out of our view. 

Yesterday afternoon we set off to look for the Wild Dogs in the south of Madikwe.  We made good progress as there were really not much to see but then we were stopped in our tracks by a snake…

I am not particularly fond of snakes but I kept my distance and then saw it was a Boomslang, not a very aggressive snake.  I was so focused on the snake; I did not even notice the chameleon behind it.  That’s when I realized (well, more hoped) something interesting was going to happen.

The Boomslang moved all over the road to make sure of its prey and then it moved off into the grass to conceal itself.  That’s when the chameleon made a run for it.   The snake came to the road again lifting its head and using its good eyesight to locate its prey.  Both disappeared into the grass and I thought it was over but then I heard a hiss from the chameleon…

I baked up again and waited.  First the chameleon came out of the grass and some time later we saw the snake.  It was quite far away from the chameleon but moved all over the place to pick up the scent trail.  By now the chameleon slowed and the snake went for it.  The chameleon was bitten when it moved into the grass, so the snake was waiting for its Heamotoxin to take effect.  This toxin prevents the blood from clotting.

The snake first stopped to “smell” the chameleon, moved away and struck.

Our game drive started very successfully this morning with a pride of lions not far from the lodge.

This pride killed a Blue Wildebeest yesterday morning and when we arrived there this morning it was teeming with life.  About seven Black-Backed Jackals scavenging all over on bits left over.
We also followed a Spotted Hyena with the whole spine and ribcage in its mouth.  (Take-away Ribs)!

But then the call came through that the Southern pack Wild Dogs were found. We followed them as they walked down this long straight road.  Seconds after I took this photo they disappeared in a streak after a kudu.

This time the kudu got away.

Hi Fans….

This Month has been rather quiet as far as our high standards of game sightings go, and this was due to some serious rain we have received during the month, which has turned the bush into a vibrant paradise with vegetation growing to maximum capabilities. This makes spotting game a little more difficult, and certain roads have been waterlogged making traversing the park challenging.

Anyway, there have been some amazing sightings, and we will kick off with a sighting that Christo had one afternoon at Tholo Dam, up in the north of the park, and this is how he saw it……

One afternoon we took a leisurely drive up to the north of the park to see if we can find the Wild Dogs that have been spotted in the area that morning. As it was a rather hot day the dogs were located not too far from where they were spotted in the morning, but unfortunately still lethargic as it was early afternoon and the sun still beating down.  We bumbled along with the hope that by the time we get there they might have waken up a bit. 

Luckily for us, just as I was about to pull into the wild dog sighting I heard an update that the dogs are up and moving towards a large dam.  With wild dogs there are basically 3 general activities they are either, sleeping, hunting or eating and these dogs were definitely done sleeping so it was game on.  It also didn’t take long for the call to come in that the dog are after some Wildebeest, in the confusion of dogs, wildebeest and over excited rangers the dogs went missing before I got to see them.  But as luck would have it just as I went on to the dam wall to where they were heading… ta da!!!  Two Waterbuck running for their lives with the wild dogs in hot pursuit and us with a grand stand view on top of the dam wall. 

As the name suggests the Waterbuck ran headlong into the water for safety, but neither us nor they expected the dogs’ next move.  Without missing a beat two dogs plunged into the water after the Waterbuck. 

 

If Waterbuck had more expressive facial expressions, the one on the Waterbucks’ faces would have been for the records when they turned around and saw the dog paddling after them.  After a bit of swimming in circles the dogs swam to the side to re-strategize their attack.  Twice more a dog swam in to try and spook the waterbuck from the water but to no avail. 

The dogs eventually gave up and went to look for prey on more familiar (dry) ground and we left to go and celebrate a great sighting with a sun downer.         

————————————————————————————————————————————–

Thanks Christo, this is really what Madikwe is famous for, and I am sure that our guests will continue to see these super predators in action while visiting us here at Tuningi.

We have also been having some special sightings of elephants at the bigger dams in the north and with the saturated colors of summer all blended into the warm hues of sunset creates a mood which few will forget…..

 

 

 

The lion prides in the area have been doing extremely well and on one occasion the Jamala pride were eating a wildebeest when a brown hyena found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they attacked and killed him. This behavior is not often witnessed, and lions proved yet again that they are the apex predators in the savanna system.

 

The New boys on the block…the Kwandwe males are still pushing deeper and deeper into the Naledi male’s territory, and are coming into their own now, and are starting to sport their growing manes. They have been hanging out a lot with the mica females, much to the disgust of the subadults who know that they are going to be their new kings…. We don’t think it will be long now, before the Kwandwe’s find the Naledi male and banish him to the death or make him homeless !!

The 5 male cheetah roaming the park have been given new hope of creating more cheetah, as we have acquired a female for them which was captured and placed in a holding facility where she is acclimatizing herself to the sights and sounds of her new home. Hopefully she will respond well to her introduction period so that she may be released shortly. We will  be giving you regular updates on our facebook pages to keep you in the loop.

 

And lastly, Tuningi’s guests were once again at the forefront of rhino conservation, by sponsoring another rhino notching/ micro-chipping event.

A total of 3 rhinos were darted and sedated, before a good examination of their health was done. A microchip inserted into the horn, DNA samples and blood taken for analysis, as well as various measurements were taken for the data base.

Without this initiative from our guests, the park authorities simply couldn’t afford to do this, which is crucial in the conservation of the species.

 

So again, thanks to Wild EYE and their guests for choosing us as their preferred lodge in Madikwe.

So, until next time…..

Regards,

Gavin and the T-Team !!

With the constant rain we had the past couple of weeks, came some interesting fungi.  There were a massive variety of shapes and sizes.  A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source.

With everything being wet it was a bit more difficult finding game, but loads more to keep us entertained.

All over the place you would see funny shapes growing from anywhere.  These were growing out of old elephant dung.

Hello all once again…

This morning we left the lodge with the mission…. to find lions !!

Well, it started off pretty quietly, until Cornelius managed to locate on some fresh tracks, which by the way are very tough to see nowadays with all the rain we have been having, and we followed them through some wet grass for around ten minutes in a westerly direction, before we lost the tracks and our boots and socks got soaking wet. We decided to give up on those tracks and went in search of the other pride further to the north.

Anyway… after more searching we found nothing, and decided to stop for a coffee break to reboot the minds.

On the way back to the lodge we located on the Jamala females and their cubs, and they seemed to have killed a wildebeest, but there was something in the road that was lying very still….. it was a brown hyena !! The poor bugger probably got a little too close to the lions wildebeest kill, and found himself on the receiving end of 3 inch canines, and was killed.

Brown hyenas often follow lions and other predators around, in the hope that they will get a scrap from their kills when they leave, but they also do catch their own small prey including scrub hares, baby impala and wildebeest, and even insects and fruit found in the bush.

Sometimes you are hit with the reality of the harsh conditions that these animals find themselves in, and if it means that they kill each other off to eliminate competition… then so be it !!