Drama at Hippo Pools - Guest Post from Mala Mala

This is a guest post from Mala Mala. The original post appeared on 8 November on their blogsite and can be viewed here

Photo by Donna Bourdon

We were privy to an amazing sighting on Friday morning! But although it was riveting, it was also somewhat strange….

The incident took place while we were out on morning drive. We’d stopped at the Bicycle Crossing Hippo Pools to watch a herd of buffalo, when a rather large crocodile surfaced and made its way to the water’s edge.

At first it just bumped its way in-between the buffalo as they drank, which didn’t seem to concern them at all.

Then, without warning, the wily croc latched onto one of the calves.

But still the herd remained calm and quite unperturbed by what was happening. The calf’s mother walked up to it from time to time, but made no attempt at all to help it or chase the predator off.

This was very uncharacteristic behaviour for buffalo, as they are normally very protective of their offspring. It was almost as if they didn’t realise the threat the crocodile posed.

It took more than two hours for the calf to finally give up its battle, and to succumb to the jaws of the mammoth reptile.

When we returned later to follow up, we saw the crocodile, but there was no sign of the buffalo calf. It had no doubt long since been dragged down to its watery grave.

Read more about  Mala Mala and other unique properties on The Game Lodge Index