Stories Of The Kruger | Lion Kill On H3 | Hyaena’s Waiting

Kruger Park Lion Kill

A Lion kill is something most visitors who travel to the Kruger National Park want to witness. Over the years we have never witnessed a large cat or dog kill ourselves. This was something really special and was towards the end of our trip, so we were extremely fortunate to witness the event. The story is told below.

Blast From The Past

My first experiences of kills were always finding large cats with kills already. I was in my mid teens when I witnessed my first missed kill. We were on a night drive in Pretoriuskop and we came across a large male Leopard. Just in front of him was a herd of 20 or so Impala. We watched the Leopard stalk his way up to the antelope within reaching distance, and something spooked them. The Impala ran off and the Leopard made a run after them for about 30 meters or so.

Since then, I have only seen failed attempts from Lions and been seconds from seeing them bring down their prey.

A more recent occasion that I remember fondly was at Mlondozi Picnic Spot where there was a small herd of female Kudu drinking at Mlondozi Dam. Out of nowhere we spotted 3 Lionesses. They stalked and stalked up to the Kudu, which seemed like they knew exactly what was going on. They were browsing and one of the Lionesses made a run for a female, who quickly dashed away. The second Lioness made a move and the same thing happened. After that the Lionesses went for a drink (It was a hot day), and then proceeded to walk away with their heads held low.

The Kudu had won and they continued to stay in the area.

Lion Kill On The H3

Now, back to the story… This was one of those moments where we must have missed the kill by seconds. It was our second stay at Biyamiti Bushveld Camp and it was our last day. We drove down the private road very slowly in the darkness looking for any nocturnal animals that were around. We came across quite a few Scrub Hares, Common Duiker and Steenbok. We carried on towards the Biyamiti causeway and joined the S23 to the H3.

It must have been a 2-kilometer drive on the H3, where we stopped after seeing something in the thick lush green grass. There were 2 Lionesses feeding on an Impala that must have been killed a few minutes before we got there. This was one of the best kills we had ever come across.

The 2 Lions were right next to the road, and all you could hear was chewing and cracking bones. We were the first car on the scene, and granted it was a busy time of year, this means it must have literally just happened.

It was an amazing sighting, one that will be very difficult to forget. We watched the Lionesses for about 30 minutes and in-between that, 2 Spotted Hyaenas came in for a look. A few growls from the Lionesses and they backed off. They were there for a few minutes and then disappeared, maybe to call in re-enforcements?

The cars started to roll in and jockey for position, so that was our time to leave. It was amazing being able to spend time with these 2 Lionesses so close to the road. The fact that they were on a fresh kill made it that more memorable.