FACTS OF LIFE

Entering the South African bush veldt, you immediately become aware of the abundance of life, and in almost the same instant, you feel the powerful presence of death.

Giraffes: The Oddest of the Odd

The life forms often seem to have sprung from the imagination of a crazed animator in George Lucas's studio: elephants, hippos, rhinoceros and, to me the oddest of all, giraffes. Or it is so abundant as to become almost unnoticeable: impala by the dozens along the road, like commuters in a subway station, staring dumbly at the passing trains, birds of all shapes, sizes, hues and purposes. Or it is hidden in the sparse foliage, watching and waiting: lions, leopards and cheetahs, magnificent life that ensures the perpetuation of death.

It is easy here to see the connectedness of all these forms and the many more that can hardly be seen (it is estimated that the mass of all the termites living in the ground in Kruger National Park exceeds the mass of all the other animals combined). Grass grows and thrives in this environment, and elephants ensure that trees and grass stay in proper balance.

Elephants prefer the bark and roots of trees, so they are the forest managers who convert woodlands to grasslands and then move on until trees come back a few decades later. Grass and leaves on the trees feed the impala, kudu, steenbok, waterbuck and other antelopes. Grass is the staple for rhinos, hippos and buffalo.

And all of those animals are the staple for the lions, leopards and cheetahs, as well as the hyenas, jackals and wild dogs that roam the bush veldt. When we say that something is the staple for something else, we mean, of course that something dies so something else can live.

These are the facts of life in the veldt.

Leopard: The Midnight Rambler

There are more than 150,000 impala in Kruger National Park. There are about 1,700 lions, 1,000 leopards and 120 cheetahs. Few, if any, of the impala will die of disease or starvation. All will be food for the big cats and other predators, with vultures, beetles, mongoose and other scavengers cleaning up the mess. Hyenas' powerful jaws will crush the remaining bones for the marrow. Nothing is wasted. All of it supports ongoing life.

Hyenas, by the way, get a bad rap as scavengers living off the hard work of the big cats. Hyenas actually hunt and kill 80 percent of what they eat.

The big cats are not immune to violent death. When a young male lion succeeds in overthrowing an older male to take over a pride, the first thing he does is kill his predecessor's offspring. Young leopards and cheetahs are vulnerable to attacks by hyenas and other cats.

Stu Porter, my guide in Kruger for 10 days, put it succinctly: for any animal here, including the big cats, to survive to adulthood is a miracle.

And, if the predation of other animals is not enough of a challenge, all these animals are subject to the whims of water. The bush veldt experiences a wet season and a dry season. If they are out of balance, water in the seasonal rivers doesn't flow, and the pans and dams dry out. 

We saw two different water scenarios in our 10 days in Kruger. In the south end, around Lower Sabie Camp, the rains had come early. Spring green carpeted the veldt. The Sabie River ("River of Fear," because of the crocodiles), flowed. Herds were scattered, and life was easy.

Zebras at the Waterhole

Just over 100 kilometers to the north, the dry winter lingered on. The grass was brown. Rivers were dry. Buffalo, wildebeest and zebras gathered in large herds around the diminishing water holes. Big cats watched for the weak and sick. Elephants and rhinos walked many dusty kilometers for a drink and a bath. Giraffes nibbled at what little green they could find sprouting on the tops of trees.

Eventually the rains will come, and the land will turn green, and the herds will scatter. The ones that don't last will sustain the ones that do. Survival is not victory. It is merely the postponement of one's inevitable ultimate contribution.

Those are the facts of life in the bush veldt.