Watch the Sighting:
Field Guide, Daniel Hitchings took his guests out for a game drive in Thornybush Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger one evening when a pack of wild dogs caught his attention.
The pack was just finishing off their meal from a recent kill when Daniel spotted another animal out of the corner of his eye. An impala was unknowingly wandering into the territory of the wild dogs in hopes of sneaking a drink from the nearby river.
Sensing the action about to unfold, Daniel quickly pulled out his camera to capture the moment.
Surrounded at the River
The pack began to close in around the impala, encircling it with malicious intent. In an instant, the impala elegantly bounded over the first dog but quickly realized it would soon have to make an impossible choice — face the dogs or enter a crocodile-infested river.
With no time to think, the impala had only one option—leap into the jaws of the unknown! It bounded into the water in a blind panic, choosing to risk its life with the crocodiles in hopes that the dogs wouldn’t be desperate enough to swim after it.
The impala swam frantically across the river, avoiding the crocodiles lurking beneath the surface. As it neared the other side however, it quickly realized that another problem was rapidly approaching — a pod of hippos blocking the exit at the other side of the river.
A Courageous Escape
The hippos stared down the approaching impala as it continued its path straight towards them. Finally, one of the bigger hippos, now within only a few feet of the impala, decided it had had enough.
The massive hippo exploded forward, sending a wave of water crashing around it! The impala, still swimming hard for its life, made a miraculous save as it swerved around the giant hippo’s body, and took the last few exhausting steps out of the water.
In the end, the impala made it safely across the river, darting into the bush and triumphantly escaping all of the dangers in and around the water. The hippos watched in frustration as it bounded away without a second thought.
The Fast and the Fearful
Because of the constant threat of predators in the wild, impalas are natural athletes. They are prey for lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, leopards, crocodiles, pythons and hyenas, to name a few.
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Impalas can run at speeds of up to ninety kilometres per hour and can jump up to three times their height. They also tend to jump in various directions to confuse any chasing predators.
This encounter is a perfect display of the athleticism impalas rely on day to day to escape the many threats they face. It was a miracle that this particular impala made it past so many predators unscathed.
Upon witnessing this extraordinary sighting, Daniel reflected that although the wild is brutal, unpredictable, and merciless, today, luck was on the impala’s side. “Sometimes luck is on your side and sometimes it isn’t. It was this impala’s day”.