We had a fascinating sighting a few days ago, not far from our safari camp, when the Ross pride brought down a large female giraffe. The pride had fed extensively on the carcass by the time we arrived as we could see that they had gorged themselves.
Lions Feeding
Shortly after, the kill attracted a huge number of hyaena who began to gather a short distance from the carcass. As their numbers swelled, so did their confidence.
Waiting Hyaena
An elephant rushed in to have a look at all the commotion which disturbed and distracted the lions. The hyaenas quickly took the chance to rush in and take over the carcass. They fed quickly as the lions backed up a short distance away, observing the large clan of hyaena tearing into their prize.
After a short breather the lions rallied and charged in, successfully chased the large clan of hyaena off to reclaim their carcass. The hyaena did manage to run off with a portion of the leg and continued to feed a short distance away.
Keeping an eye on the Hyaena
Watching these two apex predators going head to head was really something to see, and our guests were left in awe.
Text and photos by Dale Jackson
One of the males was also with the pride and we managed to see some great interaction between pride members. The five youngsters were all trying to suckle, which made for interesting viewing as they all battled to find a nipple. Dad was having very little to do with the youngsters and just sat there and struck a very regal pose. It made for some amazing shots. Enjoy.
I photographed this hyena not far from the carcass, patiently waiting for the lions to clear off before making its move. Buffalo have been wide spread and the cows
have taken advantage of good veld conditions to give birth – this little one doesn’t look much older than a week or two. The Zebenine female’s young cub is almost completely self-sufficient and we have not seen them together for some time now. He was really posing for us and presented a wonderful photo opportunity.
The highlight of the weekend must have been the small ‘herd’ or crash of rhino we found, ten of them all together, yes ten! What a wonderful sight as they grazed in and around the vehicle – a truly unique experience. Scotch later mentioned to me that in his 16 years at 
Tanda Tula this was the most rhino he had ever seen in one group. The sunrises and sunsets have also been sensational, especially if you can find some vultures in a dead tree to fit in the frame.
We recently completed a tracking assessment with Adriaan Louw, an expert in this unique field.
Jack Ngomane, our head tracker, is up for his senior track and sign assessment this year and has already achieved his senior trailing qualification. If he manages to achieve this he will be the only senior tracker in the entire reserve! We’ll let you know how he fares later in the year.
The team recently went out and completed our monthly shooting practice. This is the absolute last resort if a guide is faced with a potentially life threatening situation and there is an imminent threat to his guests safety.
