Africa Top Five: #3 - Fresh Kill

 

I couldn't figure out what was the large round organ (above) that spilled out of the wildebeest. I thought maybe it was the heart. Whatever it was, the lions were avoiding eating it. I've since found out that they will eat the intestines but avoid the stomach, so perhaps this was a stomach.

 

 

The fallen wildebeest. 

 

A half dozen other lions, including this male, were laying around nearby, some with their full bellies up in the air, having just finished their turn at the meal.

 

In the midst of this, a small group of wildebeest (upper left corner) began cautiously approaching the lions. We could not for the life of us figure out what they were doing. It was a little late to help their buddy, and they could have easily become dessert for this pack.  But the silly creatures kept inching towards the kill, like they were looking for a rumble! Or perhaps paying their last respects to their fallen comrade? Finally, a lioness (in center of photo) noticed them and went into stalking mode, crouching low in the grass. A few minutes later, the wildebeest wisely took off.

 

 

We really didn't need much of a zoom for these photos. That's the edge of our vehicle, above.