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lion and gnoo


lion and gnoo
Photo Information
Copyright: Femke van der Horst (femkevdh) Silver Note Writer [C: 5 W: 0 N: 14] (44)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-01-15
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Nikon D70s
Exposure: f/9.0, 1/250 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-12-06 3:09
Viewed: 727
Points: 0
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
It's already quite amazing to be eye in eye with a male lion, but especially with one that just hunted a gnoo with succes... The whole animal, except for the head, went in, including the skin!!! The crushing of the bones really gave me chicken skin....

The Masai Mara (means 'spotted land, beacuase of the acia trees that seem like dots when you look at it from above) is a large park reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania. Named for the Maasai people (the traditional inhabitants of the area) and the Mara River which divides it, it is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of the wildebeest every July and August, a migration so immense it is called the Great Migration.

With an area of 1510 km² the Masai Mara is not the largest game park in Kenya, but it is probably the most famous. The entire area of the park is nestled within the enormous Great Rift Valley that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to South Africa. The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland, with clusters of the distinctive acacia tree in the south-east region. The western border is the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment of the Rift Valley, and wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good and tourist disruption is minimal. The easternmost border is 224 km from Nairobi, and hence it is the eastern regions which are most visited by tourists.

The Masai Mara is perhaps most famous for its lions. All other members of the "Big Five" are to be found in the Masai Mara, although the population of black rhinoceros is severely threatened, with a population of only 37 recorded in 2000. Hippopotami are found in large groups in the Masai Mara and Talek Rivers. Cheetah are also to be found, although their numbers are also threatened, chiefly due to tourist disruption of their day-time hunting. As mentioned above, the plains between the Mara river and the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment are probably the best area for game viewing, in particular regarding lion and cheetah.
Like in the Serengeti, the wildebeest are the dominant inhabitant of the Masai Mara, and their numbers are estimated in the millions. Around July of each year these ungainly animals migrate in a vast ensemble north from the Serengeti plains in search of fresh pasture, and return to the south around October. The Great Migration is one of the most impressive natural events worldwide, involving an immensity of hervibores: some 1,300,000 Wildebeest, 360,000 Thomson's Gazelle, and 191,000 Zebra. These numerous migrants are followed along their annual, circular route by a block of hungry predators, most notably lions and hyena.
Numerous other antelope can be found, including Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, impala, topi and Coke's hartebeest. Large herds of zebra are found through the reserve. The plains are also home to the distinctive Masai giraffe as well as the common giraffe. The large Roan antelope and the nocturnal bat-eared fox, rarely present elsewhere in Kenya, can be seen within the reserve borders. The Masai Mara is a major research centre for the spotted hyena. Additionally, over 450 species of birdlife have been identified in the park, including vulture, marabou, secretary bird, hornbill, crowned crane, ostrich, long-crested eagle, and pygmy falcon.
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To loot: Lion and preyfemkevdh 2 12-07 06:07
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Critiques [Translate]

  •      
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5726 W: 605 N: 3416] (9137)
  • [2007-12-06 13:01]
  • [3] [+]

Hi Femke

That's rather a nice clean piece of chopped meat for a lion in the wild. Bloodless and dirt less. Actually it doesn't look quite normal. If in fact the lion had torn it off the carcass, usually piece by piece, it would be shreds or irregular chunks, full of blood, and normally mixed with ground, dirt, or grass, etc.

The weight of a full grown African lion could be as much as 225-250kg and the weight of a full grown blue wildebeest (gnu) is also in the same region, about 225-250kg. That's a big piece of meat (including the skin) for one lion to polish off and (if possible at all) would probably take a couple of days to accomplish. Maybe it's just a case that the animals in the Masai Mara are bigger, meaner, and hungrier then anywhere else in the world.

I'm just wondering…

Regards
Loot

  •      
  • Aaltjie Gold Star Critiquer [C: 273 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-12-07 2:55]

Femke
Pardon me 100 times if I am wrong, but this meat looks like the “skaapribbetjie” we buy at the butcher when we have a braai. It is just to clean and neat for words. No blood, no nothing.

I can imagine your frustration, and looking at your second posting of today, I can see something between the lion and the meat maybe representing the horns. But I honestly don’t know if one can believe it is just that. If it is so then this gnoo was malformed, because this lion is eating some ribs and the ribs on any animal or even a human are not so close to the head.( Glad I never became a Biology teacher, with my way of explaining)

I have been in game reserves, where I have seen how the animals are been fed by the rangers. Not been spoon fed like you feed your children, but pieces of cut meat been thrown to them. Just maybe this was the case here…………….O but you say in your feedback to Loot that it is not so. Then I don’t know.

I also read in your notes that you saw this lion eat the whole gnoo. Just a pity there is no evidence of any other bones or fur or skin lying around, in your first posting of it. This could have made your statement more possible and your story worthwhile. What I have learned is that hyenas normally eat the bones and the little meat left to it.

Ok, I said enough………..Just my opinion………………….but still it looks like the ribbetjies we have sometimes.

Regards
Aaltjie

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