This is what I love!
So my previous post about Africa says it all - there is just something hypnotic about the place. The more that I think about it the more that I think it is the wild that is drawing me - those wide open spaces, the fact that your reflexes and your instincts are probably your best friends and the animals ... oh the animals! (that is one big ass exclamation mark there!)
The recent movie 'Blood Diamond' says a lot about Africa. It is a place where corruption rules, where it`s not what you know but who you know
and it is survival survival of the fittest! I am trying to restrain myself from writing screeds and screeds - so instead I will leave you with this AMAZING video that sums up the African spirit -
We are fighters!
We are survivors!
We NEVER give up!
Just watch and let this do the talking (trust me watch to the end of the video!)
I have seen a Lion kill a Buffalo only metres infront of me and I have seen crocs take various animals - but as the guide keeps saying, this footage is incredible!
The recent movie 'Blood Diamond' says a lot about Africa. It is a place where corruption rules, where it`s not what you know but who you know
and it is survival survival of the fittest! I am trying to restrain myself from writing screeds and screeds - so instead I will leave you with this AMAZING video that sums up the African spirit -
We are fighters!
We are survivors!
We NEVER give up!
Just watch and let this do the talking (trust me watch to the end of the video!)
I have seen a Lion kill a Buffalo only metres infront of me and I have seen crocs take various animals - but as the guide keeps saying, this footage is incredible!
Ars Poetica
at some point, my hand made it's way over my mouth and stayed there lol
i reckon the two buffalo that wandered down the hill at the end, might have been off chasing lions, pushing the boundaries further ..
wow, thanks for sharing that.. i need the flush, it's cold in melb tonight...
~Loly
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
it's a long way for me to come for a walk,
you'll be interested in my diamonds then.
The power or one?
Africaaaah here I come.
katyzzz
Rugby World Cup 2007
Truly amazing Ash.
..and yes...survival of the...bravest.
~Lily...my mouth dropped open and stayed there!
Love the new banner Ash hon...big hugs...
Dusk
incredible footage...I actually yelled out loud!
LOL
Those lions and buffalo were amazing! And I have to agree, fantastic new banner indeed!
Great post!
Take care,
Nick
Histeries, Mysteries and what not
Lifes little slices
Mystical Creativity
Great peice!! very hard stuff for me to watch. just sad but a god ending here indeed.
Tammy
Histeries, Mysteries and what not
Lifes little slices
Mystical Creativity
Celebrity Obsession
WOW, that was amazing. My mouth also dropped open and stayed that way. My god, when that buffalo gored that Lion.....wow!!
Nature can be such a cruel thing.
Kylie
Kalikapsychosis
Ive seen amazing footage like this from Africa over the years. Particularly at the big river crossing during the migration from one end to the other - Im sure you know all the details Ive forgotten!
I feel incedibly sorry for the lions. Yep, sure, Im happy for the little guy and every thing, I was on the edge of my seat for him, but for a complex predator thats a lot of energy to expand to get nothing back. All predators work that way - They can only expand enough energy as the prey is worth. That time they took a calculated risk, had to expand MORE energy with the crocs, then run from Buffalo! And they got NOTHING for it! The next hunt will be so hard for them. A happy ending for me would have had the lions fed too....
I think I would have been in real trouble if it had been a zebra.....
This is just another example that mother nature gets it wrong. In my house they all live in harmony(well sort of) Cos mum says so!
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
It`s amazing hey! I also had my hand at my mouth. Having seen a Lioness take down a full grown Buffalo (and Giraffe) I was fully expecting this little guy to get lost...
Then the crocodile came into the picture and I seriously thought he was a gonna... but nah they never gave up on the tyke!
Do you know in the wild a newborn animal is expected to walk within half an hour of it being born? Imagine the strength of a little one?
The animals in Africa are amazing! I have seen a group of Wildebeast chase off Hyaena too - we should learn a lot from these guys, it doesn`t matter about size, if you have a group behind you, you are HUNDREDS!
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
I wouldn`t recommend a walk alone in the African wild - you may not be found ever again!
My dad once got out the car in the middle of a game park to... um... relieve himself... and a leopard jumped out from the overhead tree! The camouflage of animals in the wild is incredible!
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Truly incredible hey! You gotta love the African bush - I hope you get there someday - I just have a feeling that YOU would love it!
Thanks Dusk... the banner brings back so many memories for me. I was with some people and we stayed in these chalets on the edge of this river. I went for an early morning canoe alone and there were so many dragonflies around...I stalked this guy (and anothe red one) for AGES! He was landing on the reeds and the oars and everything - then I had to deal with the reeds blowing in the wind and the rocking of the boat (when you engage in Macro Photography you pretty much have to be completely still) ... I was WELL chuffed with this photo... allow me to blow my own trumpet here
HUGS TO YOU
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
ahhhh I have commented on both elements of you comment already - I sincerely appologise for having to say PLEASE REFER TO THE ABOVE
A Buffalo is a HUGE animal don`t let them fool you - when you see the size of those shoulders and the size of those horns... you would NOT like to mess with them - I feel sorry for that Lioness that got a horn in the side... that would have H U R T!
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
~laughs~ you will not believe this but I had you in mind when I said - make sure you watch to the end - as I was sure you would turn it off and miss out on the great ending!
Just a bit of 'Interest Info' here - but a Lioness (female lion) will always be the one who does the hunting, the male lion will be waiting hiding somewhere in the bushes nearby where he will watch the goings on. The females will then drag the carcass over for the male to have his feed, if there are any cubs then they will feed next and finally she will get whatever is left!
a woman`s work is never done!
ash
Histeries, Mysteries and what not
Lifes little slices
Mystical Creativity
I am sooo glad i watched all the way. I kept thinking surely Ash wouldn't give us a bad ending, surely, just keep watching, just keep watching. lol i cannot wiat to show Kaitlyn. I have to remimber tonight to do so. She'll be like me, a wreck while watching, wanting to turn it off. <smiles> All along i'll know what the ending holds.
So, not fair how they eat. Should be the cub, then the females, and then the male. or atleast the cub, then mom and dad at the same time. <grins>
Take care, Tammy
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
Mis
New Banner is spectacular
I couldn't help thinking the buffalos were some sort of metaphor for Orble Blogs.
Mama Blog got eaten by the Big Bad Orble Crocodile but Baby Blog survived when the Good Orble Buffalos came to its defence.
David ...
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Had my hand over my mouth... huh, who would thunk it?
It reminds me of a story I was reading recently, about a lioness who raised a small lamb as her own ... and that turtle who adopted the Hippo... I think funny things are afoot on the Sarangeti too. *chuckle*
Loved it Ash
Lilla ...
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Yeah nature is very cruel - survival of the fittest for sure. It seems sad, but at the end of the day unfortunately is the circle of life.
I guess we are really sheltered from all of that in our lives now - I remember FREAKING out at school once. We were standing in line to go into the video room which was near the school kitchen and a headless goose came running out the door having just been slaughtered.
It was the first time I actually realised that meat had been a living thing before it ended up on my plate!
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
ooooh my uncle wants to go and see the migration next year - watch the wildebeast in Kenya - that would be AMAZING!
There are incredibly sad things that you see in nature - I recall watching a Lion kill and being in tears over watching this beautiful, huge beast brought down and killed... and those predators don`t wait for the animal to die before they begin ripping into their flesh...
When you watch the skill of these animals as they stalk they prey, every move perfectly planned and all of them moving in complete understanding of what needs to be done... in that way it is sad that it never paid off for them. I must admit I was pulling for the baby though - the lions need to learn to become vegetarians
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
It feels like it - it`s a good thing this writing business
I hope Kaitlyn liked the video - that lil' dude kicked ass didn`t he? Never give up!
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Quite riveting viewing hey! Glad you stayed tuned for the big ending... Hollywood needs to take notes I think.
Only too happy to share the buzzy friend
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
~laughing @ your comment~ very true!
I would never post anything like that intentionally though..... ~cough~
ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
oooh there is always something interesting happening in the natural world isn`t there? Even when we think Mother Nature can`t surprise up anymore she throws in some real doozies
in the wild anything can happen - that`s why I love it so much! I think we need to take some pointers...
dragonflies are beauties!
ash
Kalikapsychosis
Usually they do kill it before eating, just from bringing it down. Usually one will grab the throat and on the whole, nature has it thought out pretty well so that the prey does not suffer. I keep trying to impress it upon Kman - Animals do not feel pain like we do. Yes, they suffer, Im not denying that, but the more domestic we make them the more like us we become. The buffalo KNOWS its place out there, theyre prey.
Like I said - in MY house, the lion lays down with the lamb - OR ELSE!
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
I`m not really a TV fan so I don`t know these shows... I have heard of it though.
Although it would hurt the animal when it is tripped up and brought down it normally takes it a while to die while the predator suffocates it. The predator will trip up the prey while the other will come around the front, sinking their teeth into the animals throat, cutting off the air supply.
The Buffalo we saw brought down was a real fighter and was still alive when one of the animals started to rip away its tail to get to the flesh. I don`t know if it felt anything but its eyes were wide eyed with shock.
Nature is certainly very contradictory.... it has amazing beauty... and amazing cruelty... but it is also the circle of life - that meat that is cooked up for dinner used to be up and walking around... we just don`t get to see how it is done, and then see it in nature and think it cruel. Growing up in nature shows you a completely different side of life... it`s not always a pretty picture, but it`s life!
Kalikapsychosis
And yes, you got it in one darl - All these wrapped in cotton wool suburbanites watch nature shows and go "oh, how awful!" Then trot off to the supermarket and buy themselves a slab of plastic wrapped cow and pig and never even think of what theyre doing!!
Bein a farm girl Ive got a bit more perspective....But I cant think too hard about it. The only thing I can eat guilt free is chicken! Ive got a witchcraft book that talks about how if you go vegan to prevent killing, do you realize there is death static as you tear up a lettuce for salad?
Life death, beauty pain, where would we be without them?
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Kalikapsychosis