The big boys of the Klaserie have done it again – after being seen yesterday on game drive with full bellies and looking very lazy, it turns out The Trilogy used the hours of darkness to make yet another kill early this morning. This coalition of 3 big male lions has been hanging around old Ross Pride territory for over a year now and they have become known as some of the fiercest, most battle-scarred lions in the area. They have become much more habituated to the game viewers over their time in Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp territory, whereas previously they have mock-charged the vehicles and moved off as we have approached. This morning, the boys devoured a buffalo calf out in the open on one of the cutlines offering a brutally awesome sighting to guests at nThambo and Africa on Foot.
Photographers and filmmakers, Russell MacLaughlin and Shannon Benson (aka Shannon Wild), have moved into the Klaserie territory for a while to make the most of the spectacular wildlife filming opportunities at Africa on Foot. On only their 2nd day on the job, they join photographer, Kevin MacLaughlin, on the scene of this monstrous lion kill.
A bloody scene was expected, but there was something quite out if the ordinary that made this sighting a little more difficult to swallow. The buffalo cow appeared to have been pregnant with a calf, and Kevin speculates that she might have been beginning to give birth when she was taken down by the opportunistic lions.
Lions in this area are professional buffalo hunters and prey on buffalo more than anything else. They take advantage of the large buffalo herds and, particularly during the fertile summers, the high number of young calves that are born. An animal as large as the buffalo, donning some ferocious horns, and a temper to match, is no easy feat for lions operating in small prides. In this case, it seems that The Trilogy found themselves in the right place at the right time as this buffalo was at a disadvantage.
According to Kevin, the calf was found next to the body of the mother, fully formed and covered in fur, although it was quite a small size. Therefore, it can not be certain that the cow was in labour, but the possibility is high, as it would have given the lions the perfect opportunity to make the kill.
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