Today was one of those days we’ll remember for a very long time. Blood, gore, birth, death and drama. It was as if the soundtrack of Disney’s “The Lion King” was playing on repeat. The lions I told you about last night killed a wildebeest within sight of camp and probably every person in camp was able to tick the King of Beasts today. One of the first things we saw as we started our day was a hyena walking away with a chunk of wildebeest leg in his jaws. We saw a newly born baby wildebeest that couldn’t have been more than an hour old. And we found an elephant trapped in a muddy pan, unable to get up, and fighting a losing battle for its life. And in between there was still so much more! Nature isn’t always pretty and we realise just how fortunate we are to see scenes like these playing out as it has done for millennia without human interference. Still difficult not to let our human emotions cloud our interpretations of what we saw though…
DeWetsWild 
I love what you said about human emotion playing such a big part in our reactions to these events…. The natural cycle of life that’s been going on without beyond human observation forever. I guess it’s a huge step forward, though that there is much more observing than shooting for sport. Do you think that all these safaris are having a detrimental effect on these wild creatures, though?
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I suppose everything humans do impacts on the environment in some way, pollution being one of the biggest factors. The Kruger Park limits the number of visitors in the Park at any given time, trying both to minimize the impact on the wildlife and environment as well as the visitor experience.
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Good to know. My son and his wife (who do aLOT of traveling) were there very recently and said it was one of the experiences of a lifetime.
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That’s the kind of feedback we love to hear!!!
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Ai sulke goed maak my so hartseer…
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Dit was bitter moeilik om te aanskou, Tina..
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Such amazing experiences you have!
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Kruger Park is spoiling us royally on this trip, Lori!
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Die arme olifant… die natuur is wreed!
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En so gaan dit dag in en dag uit, maar so selde het ons die kans om dit te sien.
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In the wilderness, life and death are just a balanced equation that will solve by itself. We are only spectators, Nature has a way to equalize the odds. It comes to be, organized chaos.
Great gallery and post, it tells exactly what life in the wilderness it’s all about. Thank you, D. 🙂
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Indeed so, H.J, and normally we are staunch supporters of the principle of allowing nature to take its course in our national parks. It’s just that the elephant’s ever more feeble attempts to safe itself, and the fruitless efforts of other elephants, was truly heartbreaking to witness.
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How absolutely tragic about the elephant.
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It really had us seriously debating the human urge to intervene, even in impossible situations like this.
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Sure. And we intervene constantly even without realizing it – fences, roads, traffic, poaching, water pollution, light pollution, etc.
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