help?
 

I have been reading the posts on the Afican forum because we love to see wild life and we thought it might be fun to go to Africa. I think it may be more than we can handle. We don't want to see any kills, so is Africa out of the question for us?

It depends on what area you go to and luck. I have spent a total of 10 months in the Namib Desert of Namibia and taken over 100 game drives and the only kill I saw was a gecko killing a scorpion in the wine cellar of the lodge.

Now that I could handle. Thanks!

It also depends on whether you mean that you don't want to see a kill as it happens, or if it is also a problem to see the remains of a kill being eaten.

I just spent 10 days on safari and didn't see one. But I did see remains being eaten at least half a dozen times. Only once did it bother me, and that was because of the smell (so I held my nose).

Seeing a kill happen is a pretty rare sight. But all you have to do is tell your guide upfront that you don't want to see one.

In 8 trips to Africa...i have seen only 3 kills (two by wild dogs, they hunt very successfully!).

I respect your personal decision to not want to witness a kill, however your best option is to book a private safari as your jeep-mates will be very interested in something spectacular!

Hari

Feeding on a carcass, i bet you will see 100%

a kill is just nature at it's finest. like a housecat killing a mouse, only on a grander scale. i've only seen 1 by lions and 1 by snake and though very sad to witness, you have to realize that is their meal and it was fascinating to watch (once the bleating stopped) Don't let that possiblity keep you from Africa, you can always close your eyes if a kill goes down.

Agreed!

I have lots of mixed feelings. I take no joy in seeing a kill -- after an initial feeling of revulsion, though, I find it absolutely fascinating to see how Nature functions.

One aspect that I very much appreciate is that <i>nothing</i> is unused or wasted. Every last scrap of the unfortunate beast is used. I would suggest that this is in sharp contrast to animals who are farm-raised for their meat. (And I lay claim to no particular purity here: I'm no vegetarian.)

I would agree with Hari that a private vehicle would help ensure that you would not witness kills. Also, you would want to choose locations where you would be less likely to see large numbers of cats and other predators.

Well thanks. I would not mind seeing animals feeding on a carcass, but I am sure that seeing an animal being taken down and killed would up set me. I know this is survival, but I would rather not witness the raw indifference of nature. It does sound like a rare sight though.

Although not seen yet, my DH and I agree that I will simply close my eyes if it gets too much for me. seems like a good compromise as he's very interested in seeing a kill.

Being one of a curious nature though, I may peek.

Best advice thus far, just tell your guide. You'll possibly be the only one's heading away from a kill while everyone else breaks their necks getting there.
Good luck!

It's much easier to see without a dramatic build up from the narrator and some heavy music.
The chances of seeing a kill are remote, but if you are sharing a vehicle with others, you should be prepared to stay and watch, you are after all watching nature.

We saw our first kill on our second safari in East Africa this year. I wasn't too sure at all how I would react - and I thought of it a lot over the years as I dreamed about going on safari. Would I watch it? Would I turn away? Could I watch it? I was VERY surprised that I watched in absolute fascination, and, not only that, it became a highlight of our trip.

It really is just nature working in perfect harmony, and if we want to continue to see the cheetahs, lions, leopards and the other predators that we all want to see, well, they have to eat too to survive!

Rizutto is absolutely right - while watching the kill I was awestruck by the way that nature works - Disney pegged it so well when he said the circle of life, it truly is. (although I don't imagine for a moment Walt was the first one to coin that phrase, he certainly made it famous!)

But, all that being said, I agree with the others, if you don't want to see something like that, make sure you are in a private vehicle and ask your driver to please drive away if he thinks it will happen, I'm sure any driver would oblige you on that.

If you are in a vehicle with others that do want to stay, then tuck a pair of the airline eye blinders, and earplugs in your day bag, that may help.

Tbelgian,

Odds are that you will not see any kills, other than the kind Tuckeg described, if that. I would have thought Tuckeg's matchup would have had the predator and prey reversed.

I did not see a kill until my 6th visit to Africa.

If you have a private vehicle you could inform your driver of your preference to avoid kills. Private vehicles are most common in Kenya and Tanzania.

If you are in a group, I would think that your vehicle-mates would very much like to witness such a spectacle of nature. If you insisted on leaving the scene of a cheetah stalking a gazelle, for instance, I could see a conflict arising. But nothing would prevent you from closing your eyes and holding your ears until the incident was over.

You could also pick areas where a kill is very unlikely. Gorilla tracking in Uganda and Rwanda is quite peaceful. Also if you do walking safaris, it is unlikely you would witness the chase and kill of prey because predators are more wary of people on foot and take off after you get a glimpse.

Good luck and keep us posted on your plans.