The first vulture landed one hour and five minutes before the
Kruger National Park feeding frenzy
canada goose outlet online Follow along as “Sunday Morning” contributing videographer Judy Lehmberg reports on Week 1 of her two month trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa and to Kenya’s Maasai Mara. canada goose outlet online
By any standard South Africa’s Kruger National Park is big in both size and species diversity. At 7,523 square miles, it is more than twice the size of Yellowstone. It canada goose factory sale has 517 species of birds and 147 species of large mammals (not including rodents, bats, shrews, etc.), the largest number of medium to large mammal species to be found in any uk http://www.canadagoosecanadaoutlet.com canada goose outlet African game reserve.
goose outlet canada This is our seventh trip to South Africa and to Kruger Park. We have experienced many wonderful things in Kruger, and no day is ever the same. goose outlet canada goose coats canada
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canada goose outlet reviews A zebra mom and colt. canada goose outlet reviews
canada goose outlet uk On our third day in the park we had a relatively slow morning and decided to head back to camp for diesel and lunch. It was a hot day, especially when you consider it is supposed to be winter in Kruger now, but winter is a relative term here. It is probably more accurate canada goose coats on sale to refer to it as the dry, not so hot season. As we were driving on a really dusty road, seeing the occasional group of zebras (including the mom and colt pictured), we rounded a curve and saw cars, and more importantly a bunch of vultures circling above them. That could mean only one thing: predators lions, leopards or cheetahs had made a kill. canada goose outlet uk
canada goose outlet sale We approached the first car and they told us a pair of cheetah brothers had just killed an impala and had begun eating it 15 feet from the road, behind a tree. canada goose outlet sale
canada goose factory outlet Kruger is a wonderful place for predators because it provides so much food for herbivores. There are tall grasses and trees in what is technically a savannah, but a savannah with that also has a lot of bushes. Great for the animals; not so great for Canada Goose Coats On Sale photographers! Between the canadian goose jacket tall grass, the bushes and the other cars, we couldn’t see a Canada Goose sale thing. Fifteen feet from them and they may as well been on the moon. canada goose factory outlet
Then, inexplicably a car in semi canada goose clearance sale prime viewing territory left and we got their place. Now we could see the very tip tops of two cheetah heads through the grass as they ate and occasionally quarreled over the impala. Finally we were able to move a little, and our view improved. We realized they were obviously making short work of what only minutes earlier had been a beautiful male impala.
What luck! We were in cheetah heaven. It was hot, dry and the middle of the day, usually a combination that guarantees nothing exciting Canada Goose Outlet will happen. But something very exciting was buy canada goose jacket happening. I was closer to wild cheetahs than I had ever been and could watch them as they tore that impala apart, sometimes chirping at each other, but usually growling.
canada goose outlet online uk A few white backed vultures land nearby. canada goose outlet online uk
official canada goose outlet As the cheetahs ate, the vultures’ numbers increased white backed, hooded, white headed, and huge lappet faced birds circled overhead or perched patiently in trees. official canada goose outlet
canada goose outlet shop After what seemed like only a few minutes one of the cheetah brothers got up and left. That was the signal the vultures were waiting for. canada goose outlet shop
canada goose outlet nyc Within seconds there were 15 vultures standing just behind the bush where the second cheetah brother was still feeding. The vultures acted like they thought he wouldn’t stay long, and he didn’t. canada goose outlet nyc
canada goose outlet store Suddenly vultures were flying in from every direction, and the impala totally disappeared under a hill of feathers, beaks, Canada Goose Parka flapping wings, and canada goose uk black friday lots of squabbling. canada goose outlet buy canada goose jacket cheap store
canada goose black friday sale A scrum of vultures makes short work of the remains of an impala. canada goose black friday sale
canada goose outlet store uk After ten cheap canada goose uk minutes or so, a large lappet faced vulture took control of the vulture scrum. With wings spread to appear as large as possible and attitude blazing, he took over Canada Goose Jackets the entire carcass, intimidating his smaller cousins. canada goose outlet store uk
canada goose outlet uk sale A vulture spreads its wings to claim custody of his prey. canada goose outlet canada goose outlet uk sale
canada goose outlet parka After a few minutes, they couldn’t take it anymore and called his bluff. The vulture pile grew again. canada goose outlet parka
canada goose outlet After looking at my film footage I know it took the two cheetahs just over twenty minutes to eat their fill of impala. The first vulture landed one hour and five minutes before the last vulture left. So in canada goose uk outlet less than an hour and a half, the impala was reduced to only bones and skin. By the next morning hyaenas had eaten all of the remains and were in the process of returning the impala to the soil from where it canada goose clearance came canada goose cheap Canada Goose outlet canada goose.