In the Beat about the Bush Giveaway in the February issue of Africa Geographic, we asked ‘Do giraffes lie down?’ and received a flood of photographs showing them doing just that.

Adult giraffes spend at least a few hours every night lying down or resting, says Trevor Carnably in his book Beat about the Bush, and they also do so during the heat of the day. They do not voluntarily lie down flat as this could result in the stomach contents, which are forced into the mouth during rumination, being ingested into the lungs, resulting in suffocation. In the normal lying position, giraffes rest slightly to one side on the brisket, as do other ruminants, to prevent the ingestion problem and to make rumination easier.

This photograph of a group of giraffes in the Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, was taken by Wolfgang Heinrich of Trebur, Germany.

 
Unlucky for some

First photograph
August is a dry month in Botswana and most of the waterholes in the Savute area are at low levels – very far from ideal habitat for a hippo. Guests at Savute Safari Lodge were in luck, however, when the resident lion pride made a pass past the lodge one morning. Five unsuccessful days of hunting meant that they were hungry. All of a sudden the lions turned from their path and ran into the bush, whereupon a full grown hippo burst upon the scene with the whole pride in hot pursuit. The lions were very cautious, only attacking the hippo from behind, and running away every time he turned to face them.

Second photograph
At one stage the hippo sat down and two lions jumped on to him from behind. Everyone watching thought, ‘This is it’.

Third photograph
But no, he got up again and ran up the bank into the bush, trailing lions behind him. A short while later the lions returned to the waterhole, clearly unsuccessful in their attempts. A lucky escape for the hippo, but unlucky for the lions, now six days without food.

Mark and Lizette Carlson
 

No refuge

1. Jonathan and Beccy Stones were on a game drive early one morning in May this year in South Africa’s Pilanesberg National Park. They drove to the hide at Batlhako Dam and soon saw a pack of African wild dogs chasing some waterbuck. The buck leapt into the water for safety – the adult females swam across the dam while a youngster headed off towards an island.

2. A waterbuck bull then entered the scene and turned on the dogs in an attempt to defend his harem.











3. Meanwhile, the young buck clambered onto the island and nervously watched the wild dogs, but was soon chased off by a hippo cow and her calf. Still fearful of the wild dogs that were lurking nearby, the buck tried to return to the island but the hippos were having none of it.







4. The cow pursued the buck back into the water and then grabbed it. As the hippo pulled the buck under the water, it let out a spine-chilling cry that echoed off the surrounding hills. A few minutes later, the hippo resurfaced still holding the now dead waterbuck between its jaws. After such a dramatic sighting, it took the Stones a long time to calm their racing pulses.