A pride of lions are the only predators that have much chance for success in killing a cape buffalo. Once they have eaten their 40-or-so pounds of meat (each), they find a shady spot and snooze.
Then come the scavengers- hyenas and vultures being the most common.
At first the hyenas usually chase away the vultures, but eventually they often end up feeding together, although the big birds are ready to flap and jump away at the first sign of hyena aggression.
When the hyenas have eaten their fill and moved away, total bedlam describes the scene; a feeding frenzy of screaming and flapping vultures is a remarkable thing to experience. What a raucous bunch they are!
Thanks NP and Ken.
Funny about me and the blood/gore thing: I doubt that I could have actually watched the lions killing the cape buffalo (I fast-forward past those ever-increasing bits of recent nature TV shows; I mean- how many times do I have to see a cheetah strangle a Thompson's gazelle to get the idea?).
Yet getting there a few hours later and watching the scavengers was okay (barely).
Anyhow- life in the Serengeti ain't easy. And it can be messy.
Charlie
Thanks Socrate, Frog, Ken, Martin, Ron, Tim and Conrad.
As a non-vegetarian (I just don't talk about it all the time ), I'm probably fairly typical. Slaughter houses aren't high on my must-visit (or live down-wind from) lists.
But the reality for wild animals is often gory. It happens to be more noticeable in the plains of wild Africa.
Charlie
The clean up crew does its thing...they are as important part of life's cycle as anything on the plains; not pretty for the most part but extraordinarily effective...nicely done Charlie.
Eric
