Young Crocodile Attacks Impala - Caught on Camera
My wife and I were on a game-drive in the park, and we came across small bridge over a river. With it being before the first rains, the water was low enough for a few Impala to stand on the side of the bridge, on a dry spot, drinking water.
Impalas are extremely common animals, and often I hear them being referred to as the "McDonalds of the park" due to the fact that there are so many, and also, if you look at them from behind, you will see that the back of their legs and tail have dark lines nicely forming a "M".
There was nothing special about this sighting, until... A young crocodile, unsighted by myself, my wife and indeed the impalas, struck out of the water, attempting to satisfy his need and will to survive. In these moments of suddenness and confusion, your mind has to take stock of what is going on. I remember the moment very clearly. It took a while for my mind to make sense of what happened. It felt like several moments had past after we realised what happened, when we understood, it felt like we couldn't discuss it quicker.
Zoomed image of the main image above. You can see the crocodile, mouth open, just the left of the impalas face.
Missed them. The crocodile is left, isolated, and without a kill on the little island of sand, as the impala head for the hills away from the obvious danger
It is asif nothing ever happened here, and the moment is over as quickly as it began
I actually do not know what came over my beautiful wife to take my phone in that moment and begin taking photos . As mentioned above, impalas are not rare, and we wouldn't usually take photos of them. The fact that my wife was literally taking photos as the crocodile was striking, without any obvious signs of knowing it was going to happen astonishes me.
My one gripe is that the phone settings were set on 2 megapixels, as apposed to 16! I was perplexed at the poor quality when I was reviewing them, and realised that the quality setting remained low from the previous time I used the camera. Regardless, it was an exciting moment that I will remember forever.
Thoughts
There are so many lessons I have learned and understood in Pilanesberg, and in nature. The one that continues to astonish me every single time I go is the lessons that are there about timing and luck. You see, when you go on "game-drive", you rely on a lot of luck in the hope of seeing a sighting, or being present during one of those rare moments nature offers us from time to time. You could go out in the park and drive mindlessly for hours, and not see any animal at all, let alone a rare sighting.
I often think about timing and luck, when coming across a rare sighting like leopard for example. Thoughts like, if I had spent an extra 30 seconds showering that morning, we would have missed the moment.
If we spent 15 minutes longer at the store, we would have missed the moment.
Or if I had rested in bed for an extra 30 minutes, or if I had woken up 30 minutes earlier than we did, moment missed. Any one of those scenarios, and not only would you miss that moment and sighting, you wouldn't even know it had happened, all due to timing.
Ok. I can understand that, but what really blows my mind is what about the other parties in this moment that had to be there at the same time as me for the experience to unfold? These impala had to be at the water at that precise time, hungry enough, thirsty enough. The crocodile had to be in that river of water (which, by the way, I have never seen a crocodile in that specific river before in 16+ years). If you have ever seen a crocodile target its potential prey, they are very calculating, measuring every inch they take to ensure that they are not spotted. Any sudden movements by one Impala, or itself, and dinner is off.
Combine the ludicrous amount of possibilities for myself, the impala, and the crocodile, and in one 15 second moment, a possibility plays out in front of you. It almost feels like one of those Theme Park rides where certain actions are triggered around you based on where you are in the ride. Like those horror themed rides. When your cart approaches the man in a guillotine, the axe falls and chops off his head. It kind of feels like that for me sometimes, but the difference is that the ride you are on is called Life, and it was made by the universe. The moment happens right in front of you as if they were waiting for the audience to take their seats before the curtain raised.
A symptom of the timing factor is indecision. Should we go, should we stay? I have been present in extremely rare moments and situations where others have left literally seconds before, and I am sure that has happened to me more times than I care to think about anymore. It used to be torture for me, the fear and thought of missing out... FOMO the kids call it these days.
You have no real influence or control over anything other than your actions. The only real thing you can do is live in the moment, and trust that that moment was made for you to be present in, because it was. I am not talking about good or bad, positive or negative, I am just talking about moments. I don't remember the quote exactly, but we call it the present for a reason. In my example, it literally was a present. The timing, and the universal construct that happened, us being present. these moments are beautiful gifts, delivered to us in the present. Enjoy them!
I visited the Pilanesberg National Park in the North West Province of South Africa mid October 2016 and took a series of photographs which will be published exclusively on Steemit.com together with my thoughts and views on the moment that was captured.
Pilanesberg Before The First Rains Series - Part One
Follow My Blog