Hyena after lunch

In the coming days, I will post a number of images taken in Masai Mara National Park, Kenya, of various carnivore animals after or during lunch. Beware, it may be a little more disturbing than most subjects, for sensitive or young people. However, this is routine observation in the wild: Big cats are nice but they eat animals. Raw.

First, this is not a feline. A spotted hyena found in the morning, in a small water pool, after an early lunch.

It is easily forgotten in savanah folklore as recorded in our Northern countries, hyenas are not only carrion eaters stealing their prey from less powerful animals (like cheetahs), but also successful hunters who compensate for their slow running speed with a rather considerable endurance. They kill about half of their food.

Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta, Hyène tachetée). Masai Mara, Kenya, September 2008.