A female elephant lay on her side, struggling to rise for an entire evening, suffering some unknown ailment. She was tuskless, leaving no motive for poachers to have shot her and we never found any signs of injury. By morning she had died and we found lions there, guarding what would be their meal for a week.
Flies swarm to the carcass by the thousands, prompting this male to shake them off occasionally.
He feasted for a while, painting his jaws crimson.
The second male stepped in and claimed his place at the dinner table by announcing to the cubs and their mother that their mealtime was over for the time being.
It's never nice to lose an elephant, but it was ironically comforting to finally see one passing away from something other than a poacher's bullet.
