Zebra vs crocs vs lions

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Background
Fact #1
It's unusually wet in the Masai Mara now. It rains almost every afternoon and evening. Everything is green (sprouts & streams galore).

Fact #2
Zebras migrate to Kenya in the summer months before returning to Tanzania for the winter. Because of the unusual rain, the zebras meandered back to Kenya for the lush veggies and ample watering holes.

Fact #3
Crocs like to eat almost all animals that cross riveres.

Fact #4
Zebras fight back against the crocs unlike wildebeests.

The Plot

Crossing #1 foiled by a lioness
Our guide drove us to the river, hoping to see a zebras crossing. As they started crossed (lucky timing for us),  the skittish animals noticed a lioness hunting them on the other bank. I was momentarily sad to miss a crossing until I realized that the zebras moved few meters upstream.

Photo of crossing
will post later...taking too long now


Crossing #2 is croc infested
As the 500-1000 member zebra herd started to cross the river, large crocodiles swam into attack postion, waiting for weak zebras. Sure enough, Suzzy and I witnessed the slow, gruesome deaths of 4 zebras. Others were attacked but luckily escaped. One zebra fought 3 crocs for an amazing 20 minutes. I rooted for him; he nearly escaped their clutches swimming back and forth between banks, kicking and twisting along the way. It was tiring to watch. It was also heart-wrenching to see zebras mourn their dead. One stopped in the middle of the river to look for his missing friend (I was shouting, "Keep going, keep going!!!) Other zebras actually jumped back into the croc infested rivers to look for their loved ones. What are they thinking? They just escaped death! The HUGE crocs gorged themselves, twirling around to separate the meat from the body of the zebras. What gluttons. The largest was ~12-13 feet long and 3 feet wide.

Croc Photo


Crossing #3 satisfies a lioness
The remaining zebras are spooked by the crocs at the regular crossing so they decide to return to the original spot. However, when they crossed, the lioness quickly attacked & killed a baby zebra. What an incredible series of events to witness. Our guide is usually very reserved, not excited or passionate about much. However, he was jumping out of his seat during this game run. He's never seen anything like it...the number of zebras, crocs, deaths, the lengthy struggles, lions, etc. I guess wildebeest are much easier for the cros to kill so it's not as exciting to watch.

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