Two days ago we set out from the lodge on the evening safari, hoping to see some of the awesome things that nature has to show us. We were roughly about 2 minutes out from the lodge, when we came across a hyena, lying in the water at a waterhole close to the lodge.
He was in pretty bad shape, struggling to breath and almost too weak to move. At first we just thought that he might be sick, but upon closer inspection we found that he had some severe bite marks on his neck and back, most likely caused by a fight with a lion.
This is a common occurrence between these two species, and the main reason for this conflict would be that they compete for the same food sources as the lions. Unfortunately lions are bigger and stronger than Hyena and therefore normally come out on top after such a quarrel. Not to say that hyena cannot defend themselves… with one of the most powerful jaws in the animal kingdom, they are worthy adversaries. This specific individual has been in the wrong place at the wrong time and most likely came to close to our lioness with her cubs.
The next morning on drive we went back to where we had seen the hyena and found that he unfortunately died of his injuries sometime during the night.
Another interesting few days in the African bush at Kapama Game Reserve.
