Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Moderated by: guardian

Visit the FM Store · Image Upload · Buy & Sell
FM Forum Rules
Rules: One new topic per day

FM Forums | Nature & Wildlife | Join Image Upload

2 end

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #1 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

During our trip, we came across a number of instances where lions, hyenas or vultures were feeding on the remains of some animal. However, these kills were typically fairly old and picked over by the time we saw them. As a result, we missed what is perhaps the holy grail of photo safaris - the hunt and kill itself. That said, we did come across two situations that seemed like there was a good chance of seeing a kill - or at least a good chase. These photographs from the Lake Ndutu area will describe one of them.

#1 We were driving along the lakeshore when we found a herd of roughly 150 wildebeest standing nervously in a huddle between the lakeshore and the brush beyond the high water mark.

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:50 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #2 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#2 A closer look revealed the reason for their uneasiness. Although the lions looked fairly relaxed, we were hopeful that they might be interested.

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:51 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #3 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#3 A few brave wildebeest eventually made it to the shoreline and started to drink.

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:51 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #4 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#4 I don't know what, but something startled a few of them and they bolted into the lake.

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:52 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #5 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#5 Within seconds, the entire herd was rushing into the water.

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:52 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #6 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#6 Although the lake is wide, it is quite shallow and during dry years, it will disappear completely. However, this year there was enough water in the lake that the wildebeest in the front realized after getting about 100 yards into the water that they were in over their heads (both literally and figuratively). As a result, the whole procession rapidly ground to a halt.

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:53 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #7 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#7 Almost on cue, they all began to bolt out of the water just as, if not faster, than they had dashed into it.

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:53 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #8 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#8 The last stragglers make there way out of the lake. Once out of the water, they continued into the brush above the lake and disappeared.

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:53 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #9 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#9 Meanwhile, the lions remained totally uninterested and were barely awake. There weren't even any crocodiles in the lake!! What fun is that??

One thing this encounter did do was demonstrate the power of "herd panic." On several occasions, we saw how one wildebeest would start running and within seconds hundreds, or even thousands, would be running. Although the running is obviously a defensive mechanism, it was pretty easy to see how a predator could use the confusion created by the stampede to pick off a young or weak animal.

My next batch is my favorite moment of the whole trip and will have to be split into two (at least) parts because there is no way I'm going to be able to boil it down to just 10 or so photos.

C & C welcome, as always.

Jay

2008 © Elessar

May 08, 2008 at 12:54 AM

suemcc
Offline
Buy and Sell: On

p.1 #10 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Ah, yes....... been there.... Not literally, of course, but figuratively. You got some great water action, though!!
Susan

May 08, 2008 at 01:09 AM

Jude Perera
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #11 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Very nice pano crops. Favorites are #5, 6 and 7.
Jude

May 08, 2008 at 02:15 AM

Edie Howe
Offline
Buy and Sell: On

p.1 #12 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

#5 is my favorite; A sense of herd mentality, beautiful cropping and framing of the image. Lyrical.

Thank you for sharing. While you didn't get the holy grail, #5 is one heck of a keeper!

May 08, 2008 at 02:49 AM

Alek Komarnits
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #13 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Looking forward to the second batch - great shots and analysis of animal behavior.

Edited on May 08, 2008 at 03:58 AM

May 08, 2008 at 03:58 AM

Lil Judd
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #14 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Jay,

great shots of the water action. Fun Fun Fun

Congratulations & can't wait to see what's coming next...

Lil

May 08, 2008 at 06:50 AM

72chevelle454
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #15 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Jay, fantastic series. and great narration of the event that unfolded. Thanks for sharing

May 08, 2008 at 09:33 AM

mabidally
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #16 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Hi Jay,

Thats a great story line and some nice images of active lions and predator prey activity. The water shots "speak"! I was in Kruger few days back and though we saw lots of lion we hardly saw any predator prey activity.

Edited on May 08, 2008 at 10:55 AM

May 08, 2008 at 10:54 AM

anthony whitmo
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #17 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Thanks for sharing these Jay. And you've left me wanting more and looking forward to you next post.

anthony

May 08, 2008 at 01:39 PM

Tim Kuhn
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #18 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Wow, excellent. Wonderful story and action.

Tim

May 08, 2008 at 04:53 PM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #19 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

suemcc wrote:
Ah, yes....... been there.... Not literally, of course, but figuratively. You got some great water action, though!!
Susan

Thanks, Susan. The water action was a nice consolation prize, but it wasn't anywhere near what we were hoping for.

Jay

May 09, 2008 at 02:37 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #20 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Jude Perera wrote:
Very nice pano crops. Favorites are #5, 6 and 7.
Jude

Thanks. I would have rather had some nice hunting crops, but c'est la vie.

Jay

May 09, 2008 at 02:37 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #21 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Edie Howe wrote:
#5 is my favorite; A sense of herd mentality, beautiful cropping and framing of the image. Lyrical.

Thank you for sharing. While you didn't get the holy grail, #5 is one heck of a keeper!

I didn't get what I was hoping for, but it's hard to complain too much about anything you see on safari. I can't say I'm an expert, but all three of my trips to Africa have been fabulous in their own way.

Jay

May 09, 2008 at 02:39 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #22 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Alek Komarnits wrote:
Looking forward to the second batch - great shots and analysis of animal behavior.

Thanks. I'm looking forward to my next batch too - though I don't want to spoil the surprise by saying anything here. Then again, those who know me can probably make an educated guess as to what is coming.

Jay

May 09, 2008 at 02:41 AM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #23 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

Lil Judd wrote:
Jay,

great shots of the water action. Fun Fun Fun

Congratulations & can't wait to see what's coming next...

Lil

Thanks, Lil. It was fun watching the wildebeest, but a hunt would have been more exciting.

Jay

May 09, 2008 at 10:02 PM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #24 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

72chevelle454 wrote:
Jay, fantastic series. and great narration of the event that unfolded. Thanks for sharing

Thanks. I hope to put together the next batch in the next few days.

May 09, 2008 at 10:04 PM

Elessar
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.1 #25 · Lion Hunt - The Big Letdown

mabidally wrote:
Hi Jay,

Thats a great story line and some nice images of active lions and predator prey activity. The water shots "speak"! I was in Kruger few days back and though we saw lots of lion we hardly saw any predator prey activity.

Thanks. I have another good story line and near-miss predator/prey event coming soon

Jay

Edited on May 09, 2008 at 10:13 PM

May 09, 2008 at 10:13 PM


FM Forums \| Nature & Wildlife \| Join Image Upload 1 2 end