HI All,
This quote from MalaMala's cyberdiary - "The lions actively stalked a giraffe, and thus were left to themselves, as giraffe hunts have the potential to be fatal to human observers!"
Now were talking, anybody know why fatal?
regards - tom

Makes me wonder.......maybe the giraffes kick around a lot and stumble upon the vehicle...........who knows!!!

But really........if you are at a far and safe distance.......u should be okay.....doesnt make any logic......u may not get the pics, but, your safety should be ok.

My best GUESS is that giraffes being so long and lanky that if they should panic and run into the vehicle, there would be limbs whipping all over the place
regards - tom

Hi Tom,

In recent times in the Sabi Sands, a tracker did lose his life, when a giraffe panicked and fell and landed on the tracker who had one of those front seats. A dreadful tragedy and one that everyone should learn from - the minute lions are onto giraffes, the sight is left. Your safety is really not OK as when giraffes panick, they are quite unpredictable and it is their size when they crash to the ground that causes the problem.

Kind regards,
Kaye

I am sure Kaye is correct... however, even watching from a "safe" distance you might want to take into account that since giraffes are very fast, as well as being very panicky animals (they apparently have to be kept in an enclosure for up to 3 weeks after being captured before they can be moved from one park to another or they are at risk of having heart atacks, which is a pretty far out fact!) the hunt could be on you before you know it ... I am learning that giraffes are more dangerous than I ever thought, but it makes sense when you take into account their nature and the fact that the head is (literally) like a sledgehammer when swung and the force from a kick or stomp must be enormous - just from gravity given the weight of the animal.

Interesting question Tom and thank you for the knowledge Kaye.

Yes, i concur.....actually, when i was at Mala Mala in 2004, Nov........they had just changed their tracker policy, where the tracker was no longer sitting in the front of the jeep. He was in the back seat.....they did mention that there was tracker killed in one of the other sabi sands reserves. Wonder if it was the giraffe incident tom was referring to???

Tom

Kaye is right on the money as usual.

Hari

I've been visiting MM since 1994 and the tracker has always been at the back, you must be thinking of another property.

Hi Napamatt,

That's the only time i've been to at MM and our ranger Ryan told us so.....i don't know if i misunderstood what he meant......

Anyways, my point being MM doesnt have the tracker sitting up front on the hood seat like at Kwando or wherever...for safety reasons.

Hari

Hari

Given some of the slopes they drive up and down, it would be pretty tough for someone to sit up front. I like the tracker at the back, because his job is really spotting rather than tracking the animals, becasue there are so many. That said when tracking is required they usually do so on foot anyway.

Didn't mean to sound harsh. I do remember at Kwando that the tracker vacated his frontal position and got in besides the guide when we approached Lions.

No Problem....yep, they do that at Kwando....shifting to either the passenger seat or behind when they get to the lions.

Hari