Made a bit of a mess!
On the early morning of 15th April we came across this scene on the main road to Pafuri Gate. Police had been travelling through the park at night, as is their right. But it certainly looks like they were speeding & they hit a Zebra full on. The Zebra died on the spot & when we arrived was being devoured by a pack of Spotted Hyena.
The adults were very watchful against other Hyenas
coming too close & try to get a share of the kill.
Often stopping eating to pause & look around
for potential threats.
This adult jumped over a young cub
in order to get at the meat.
There was a lot of movement, dragging of the carcass
to gain a better purchase on the bones or meat.
Spotted Hyenas are the dominant predator in this part of the national park. Lions are very infrequent visitors here & our guide informed us that they were last recorded in 2018! In this case the Hyenas scavenged the road kill, but they are major predators in their own right & regularly take prey as large as this Zebra or Blue Wildebeest.
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