Dead Elephant

This elephant had died two days before we arrived at the Selinda private reserve. Predators had not killed it. Some unknown affliction had become fatal. This top photo shows how it looked when we first saw it.

The whole pride of lions were camped out around the body, day after day, eating as much as they could. Plenty of scavengers were also present, but they had to wait until the lions were done.

Each day, we stopped by. Most of the time, the lions were resting nearby with distended bellies. Occasionally, we saw them tearing at the carcass and sticking their noses into it.

We could smell the elephant on the first day, but each day that smell got worse. By our last day, five days after it had died, the elephant smelled horrendous. It was so bad that we didn't want to get anywhere near it anymore.

But on that last day, as we were watching the lions around the elephant and even climbing on top of it, Esefa noticed something. He said, “There's another animal!”

Then we saw it too. A nose was poking out of the elephant's body. A hyena was actually inside the dead elephant!

Hyena's are most active at night. This one must have climbed inside when the lions were not paying attention, probably when they were sleeping. Now, in the middle of the day, it was surrounded by lions and trapped.

Dom pointed out that “hyenas are dumb!” We then concluded that this was the dumbest hyena ever!

After watching for quite a while, we left the scene to continue our game drive. But later, another guide sent us the video above.

When the lions were once again not paying attention, the hyena climbed out of its oversized meal. It actually got away from the lions, escaping into the bush. Apparently, the lions had eaten so much that they did not care about the thief!

Wild Animals