Vultures brought me a lot of enjoyment during the safari. They gathered in sinister-looking trees just like you’d expect and their heads bobbed up and down exactly like the Beatles-type vultures in Disney’s The Jungle Book.
We first saw them trying to get in on the remains of a Cape buffalo taken down by lions. The lions were so full they could barely walk, but they still chased the birds away a few times before giving in. The second group was waiting for a larger group of lions to finish with a zebra. The vultures fought over lion scat and gathered in a nearby tree for their turn with the meal.
Here are a few clips set to “That’s What Friends are For” from The Jungle Book.
I’m waist deep in footage from the South African photo safari we went on last week at MalaMala Game Reserve next to Kruger National Park. Here are a few videos and some of my favorite photos so far –
Elephant and rhinoceros mud bath (safe for all stomachs) –
Lions vs. vultures (warning: a little bit of raw meat) –
Overstuffed lions try to protect the leftovers of a Cape buffalo meal from hungry and persistent vultures.
Zebra feast (warning: medium graphic but super interesting. Noisy eaters!) –
Another Land Rover pulled up behind us and a woman said, “Wait, what are they doing?! Are they eating a zebra?! I do NOT want to see that. I thought they were just hanging out!”
Photos –
Oxpeckers
Oxpeckers on rhinoceros leg
Vultures – cape buffalo
Sand river through MalaMala Game Reserve
Mother and child
Giraffe chews jawbone for minerals
Zebra through the trees
Leopard
Thorns
Lion getting shade from Land Rover
Atop termite mound
Wild dog kiss
Giraffe tongue
Tourist
Nile crocodile
Sunrise
Leopard licks lips
Elephant dust bath
Kudu and Nyala in our backyard
MalaMala Game Reserve
Lilac-breasted roller
Vervet monkey has an epiphany
Warthog family
Giraffe pose
Mongoose family
Yawn
Hornbill (Zazu from Lion King)
African wild dogs
Leopard mid-yawn
Vultures in tree
Cape buffalo with hazy eye
Baby elephant – tail removed by hyena
Lion
Baboon – backyard
Blue Wildebeast
Hooded Vulture
Rhino covered in oxpeckers
Young hyenas
Leopard lick
Donald Trump warthog
Lion enjoys zebra
Elephant mud bath
Zebra
Leopard
Leopard
Lion
Sunset
Hippopotamus
Lizard
Leopard
Leopard full yawn
Kingfisher
Oxpeckers
Mother and child zebra
Devil’s horns – got many of these stuck in my shoe