One morning one of the larger lion
prides in the eastern part of the reserve had been kind enough to
take down a wildebeest right next to the airstrip. Granted “Madikwe
International” is not one of the busiest of South Africa's
airports, but still, a flight or two per day isn't unusual...
The carcass had not yet started to smell, so it was clearly rather fresh, though already almost finished. As we approached, a lioness and two juveniles were still busy feeding, while the others had taken to the shade, panting like crazy while digesting the meal. Two black-backed jackals were wearily assessing the situation from a safe distance, patiently waiting their turn.
I had at first been a bit worried that
a sighting like this would be too much for the two younger guests in
my vehicle to stomach, as the lions were ripping apart their prey
only a few metres away... but they were delighted and and so were
their parents.
As the morning progressed and the heat
got more intense, the female decided that she'd had enough of the sun
and carried the rest of the food in under a bush, and the two younger
individuals followed.
This was the chance the jackals had
been waiting for! They came rushing for the stomach and other goodies
that had been left behind by the lions. These intelligent little
canines form pairs for life and often share food, but were regardless
of this quarrelling about the left-overs and chasing each other
around.
A few of the younger pride members
weren't too impressed with this behaviour and decided to do something
about the thieving pair. Jackals are however far too agile and alert
to be taken by lions out in the open. The heat probably made the
attempt from the big cats less serious than it could have been as
well. The chase did trigger some playfulness though and for a while
the youngsters were running around without a care in the world in the
early morning hours.
A couple of hours later as the first
flight of the day was making it's decent, both the carcass and the
pride were long gone.
/A
