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140+ Crocs feasting on a dead hippo.
Luangwa river fly over from a microlight out from Tafika camp.
Crocodiles appeared to be the only animals that were "concerned" with the micro light flying overhead.........perhaps a throwback to the days when Pterodactyls ruled the skies!

D700 70-200VRII 1/400s ISO1250 f/5.6 @82mm. 20% crop. Luangwa river, Sth Luangwa NP- Zambia Nov 2011

C & C most welcome

Cheers
Marc

that is a beautiful image marc.

Great image....what is the story behind the dead hippo?

Thanks Chris & Cameron, appreciate the comments.

aim54x wrote:Great image....what is the story behind the dead hippo?

Cam
I was there at the end of their long and very hot dry season, where any animal not in reasonable condition will perish, survival of the fittest and all that.
Another common cause of death at this time of year is anthrax, which lies dormant for many years can get stirred up when
the river levels are at their lowest. And at times can take quite a toll particularly on hippo. Crocs are immune to this deadly disease.

Great image!

Isn't it weird to see the live hippos so close to the crocs! Perhaps a croc won't attack a full-grown hippo.

That's pretty intense!

I remember watching a doco once and they were saying crocs won't attack hippos due to their sheer size. The croc is likely to hurt itself more in the attempt of the kill, so they wait for either an unprotected calf or in this case, a dead hippo. Similar to lions not attacking wildebeest or wolves not attacking a herd of buffalo.

Awesome image of some amazing creatures.

A very dramatic shot.

Not a good place for an emergency landing, I would think.

A very interesting image.

Not a good place for an emergency landing

I suspect the crocs would welcome the
additional dessert...

Very interesting story...anthrax....intriguing how the crocs are immune as well!

Nice compo Marc.

It would have been nice to have a frame of reference for the scale of the picture.