Vultures, A Crocodile, and a Fresh Carcass - Photographs and Tales from the Kruger Part 1

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Yesterday, I wrote about the trip we had to the Kruger National Park. In this first day trip, we saw so many things happen. At one of the "lookout points" we heard some commotion and we soon realised that people were pointing to a small section of a walled off damn. We could not really make out what the people with their strong binoculars were seeing, but I then took my camera and zoomed in where everyone was point. And there it was, a fresh carcass and a crocodile.

The Kruger National Park is not for the faint hearted. We could see the horns of the animal, a buck of sort, and then the ribcage. It felt like a horror movie. But soon, we also realised that the puddle of seemingly only water and mud just left to the rib cage was blood... But we did not know this yet.

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We could not spend the whole afternoon there. If you know the Kruger, you need to drive quickly to the next big thing, because time is always ticking, getting closer to the gate-closing time. If you are not out of the park in time, you will be fined, and quite heavily.

So, after a couple of minutes, we decided to leave the crocodile in peace so that it might enjoy its fresh snack.

But as we walked to the car, I looked up and saw two vultures seeing what was going on. Their senses luring them to the fresh meat the crocodile was eating. Because in the Kruger, fresh meat will attract a host of different animals very quickly.

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I quickly ran back to the scene we just saw. This might be a moment of action, where the vultures might bring some trouble to the relatively peaceful crocodile.

And this is also how we found out that the puddle to the left of the carcass was in fact blood and meat.

In the video below, you will see the vulture picking up either a piece of meat, dried blood, or a bone. But it was definitely interested in what was there...

With the vultures landing so close to the crocodile, we called our group back from the car for a last minute action scene, before we really needed to go.

I was sure that the vultures would try to steal the carcass, and I was sure that the crocodile would not want this to happen.

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But our time was really ticking by, and we soon left again. I am sure that something happened after we left. How could it not? A magnificent piece of meat was up for grabs.

I am sure we left just before something spectacular happened, because that is just how life works.

Either way, this was the first of six interesting things that happened on our two day journey into the Kruger. Some other really interesting things happened, which I will write about as the week unfolds...

For now, happy photographing and keep well.

All of the musings and writings are my own. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 300mm zoom lens.