Carina recently did a Botswana Wild Parks BTa14. On this tour she and the group discovered that Africa can be cruel! But as we say in Africa often “it's survival of the fittest” out here even if it means our hearts will be heavy and some tears might even flow. On the Botswana Wild Park we stay at Hyena Pan just outside the Moremi Game Reserve for 3 nights.

On the first full day game driving we did the morning in the Khwai concession and then into the Moremi Game Reserve for the afternoon. After lunch we headed out for the afternoon game drive.

We entered an open area close to the Khwai river and our local guide spotted a female cheetah walking around calling. Whilst watching her we discussed that she must be looking for her cubs, but she kept on looking in one direction and heading of in another. In the same opening we also saw roan antelope that seemed disturbed and kept looking in one direction a sign that a predator other than the Cheetah was near. So we did a loop into that area.

Then we found what they were afraid of, a leopard hiding under some bushes, we sat and watched her for a while when someone spotted a kill up in the tree. I looked with my binoculars and saw what it was; a baby cheetah half consumed by the leopard. Then all the puzzles fall in place. The cheetah mom must have gone off hunting leaving her cub in a thicket to hide. But Mrs. Leopard went down to the water and found the cub and killed her.
Predators are always in competition with each other and if they will find cubs on their own they will kill them to lower the amount of completion for food. Life in the bush can be hard but it always leave something interesting and once in a lifetime sighting. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!!