Blog #12: Death Threats at the Waterhole
Most animals have to go to a waterhole periodically to drink. Predators know that, so they find waterholes good for dining as well as drinking.
Africa: I have spent many enjoyable hours driving around game parks in Africa viewing wildlife. Once my wife and I drove our car nearly to the northern border of Namibia with Angola to visit Etosha National Park. While we saw many animals while driving around, our most memorable experiences came by just hanging out at waterholes and waiting to see what happened. Waterholes may be busy places, where many different animals can be seen and their behavior observed, e.g., the sparring of young male impalas or the running and jumping of a young zebra near its mother, as shown in the pictures here.
This young zebra was running in circles and kicking whenever it came close to its mother. Etosha National Park, Namibia (2001)
Two male impalas competing for prominence and mating rights. Etosha National Park, Namibia (2001)
However, for the animals, getting water to drink or grazing on the green grass around the receding waterhole during dry season is the prime reason to be there. As a consequence, it is common to see multiple species intermingled around waterholes.
Check the picture here showing how difficult it is for a giraffe to drink. That giraffe is quite vulnerable in that moment of getting a drink, as it spreads its legs and lowers its long neck for the drink. Knowing that so many animals are present and that some of them are vulnerable sometimes leads predators to waterholes.
Long tall drink. Etosha National Park, Namibia. (2001)
One interesting observation occurred just before sunset in Etosha: seven hyenas emerged from the forest into the clearing around a waterhole that had dozens of animals including impalas, warthogs, zebras, and giraffes. They all stopped feeding or drinking to watch as the hyenas moved toward the waterhole. Fortunately for the others, there was a herd of eland, including young ones, also present; at ~1300 lbs average, the male eland is the largest of the antelope family. One bull eland, in particular, charged the leader of the hyena pack, as you can see in the photo; he was backed up by six other young bulls and female adults who placed themselves between the hyenas and the calves. The leader of the pack ran for the woods and the others dispersed as well – except for the youngest hyena. Like a teenage miscreant, he slowly sauntered over and fixed his threatening gaze on an impala, who refused to run. Their locked gazes lasted a few seconds when the hyena realized he had been left alone and hustled off as well.
I have seen hyenas on many occasions, but one startled me. We stayed in three camps in Kruger National Park, South Africa, after driving our car on various roads during the day. Camps have fences completely surrounding them to separate people from
A pack of hyenas comes to a waterhole at Etosha National Park, Namibia. Hyenas are not just scavengers – they are predators. A pack of hyenas will kill a single adult lion. (2001)
Eland bull chases the leader of the hyena pack. Etosha National Park Namibia (2001)
Impala, backed up by big elands, wins the stare-down with young hyena. Etosha National Park, Namibia (2001)
animals. One dark night, I walked along the inside of the wire fence when a hyena passed me a yard away on the outside of the fence. I am sure it saw me, but I did not see it until we were two yards apart.
Hyena at the periphery of the great annual migration across the Serengeti. I saw many lions, cheetahs and hyenas that preyed on the (reported) 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra who migrate, but most were more distant from the herd than this hyena. Tanzania (1988)
This is a better picture of an eland I took years later in South Africa, although it is not nearly so large as the bull at Etosha. (2013)
Sri Lanka and Leopards. That last story reminds me of another interesting waterhole in Sri Lanka. In 1978, I was stuck in Sri Lanka as my Royal Nepal Airlines flight from Colombo to Katmandu, Nepal, was delayed for five days; one of the two RNA aircraft had skidded off the runway in Katmandu and the other had been commandeered by the King of Nepal. On day two, I talked a couple Germans into sharing the cost of hiring a jeep and driver to take us to Wilpattu National Park for game viewing
Two recently-inflicted gashes on the rear of the mother zebra indicate a close escape, undoubtedly from a lion. The ox peckers, commonly seen on the backs of animals, were probably drawn by insects attracted by the wounds. Kruger National Park, South Africa (1997)
Warthog in Umfolozi National Park, South Africa (1997).
Leopard waiting in the shade during the heat of the day. Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka (1988)
starting at dawn the next day. At midday, we parked and walked a short distance to a waterhole that had many different animals. After waiting for about an hour, we heard an alarm raised by the always-chattering monkeys. All animals around the waterhole stopped and looked in the direction of the alarm. I immediately knew it was an alarm for “leopard” even though I had never in my life heard that distinct alarm sound before. In about two minutes, a leopard emerged from the dry forest on the opposite side of the waterhole. Spotting a crocodile basking in the sun at the edge of the water, the leopard sprinted towards the crocodile who ran into the waterhole; the leopard stopped when the water came up to its chest. We spotted two other leopards later in the day resting in the shade – one is pictured here. I realized life is not easy for a leopard: first, birds and monkeys alert everyone where the leopard is located and, secondly, attacking a crocodile is a desperate act, as the crocodile could severely wound or kill the leopard.