The Blackback Jackal and the Rüppels Griffon (a story from the Mara)

My apologies for the "grey" background - its actually white but computers often make decisions of their own.

There has to be a story. If there isn’t then, to me, its just a mindless little sketch that anyone could come up with.  One of the exciting things about travel is that there is a story to tell and my travels have taken me far and wide around the continent of Africa. And it’s there that I get my stories.

You may have heard along the grapevine that I have managed, somehow, to get one of my artworks into the finals of The David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 #dsway. For those of you who haven’t heard of this event, it takes place every year and has been dubbed the Oscars of the Wildlife Art World! High praise indeed for an event that not only raises the game for artists but also puts Wildlife Conservation front and centre. The exhibition is at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London and this year, my artwork It’s Mine will hang on the walls.

I thought, therefore, that the story should be told. 

It was a fairly chilly morning on the Maasai Mara Reserve. There had been a storm the previous night. One of those vicious African storms where thunder rolled like giants footsteps echoing across the savannahs and lightning danced across the skies, stabbing at the darkness repeatedly. Not much rain had fallen, but one could not help but be glad that a tent at least kept the rain at bay.

One does not have far to go, in the Mara, to see animals and it was no different that morning. As we made our way East towards a lesser frequented area we found a bit of a commotion going on up ahead. There were vultures swirling overhead in the skies and they were descending quickly and silently with wings outstretched and talons thrust forward.

We approached slowly amidst the flapping wings and found on a bare knoll the lifeless body of a zebra. There were no lions or leopard around and on closer inspection we discovered that one of those lightning bolts of the previous night had done the damage here. 

A wily spotted hyena had already been busy. The carcass was ripped open the and hyena’s face was dripping blood. Along with the hyena there were two Blackback Jackals getting stuck into the softer bits of flesh.

As more and more vultures landed and started moving in, the Blackback Jackals became very agitated. They snarled and bared their teeth at the vultures but they were slowly but surely becoming outnumbered by the intimidating birds who were starting to show impatience at being kept away.

Then, as the competition started heating up, the male jackal got more and more aggressive. He lunged at the approaching vultures repeatedly. Each time he jumped up they would simply fly up a few feet out of reach and then land a few feet away again. The ritual went on for at least an hour. The jackal was becoming more and more agitated, but, it was of course, all in vain.  It was not long after that the vultures numbers were so overwhelming that the two jackals had to beat a hasty retreat and give up their opportunistic meal.

Sadly, I could not return later that day to the carcass as I had a plane to catch, but what I did have was a memory of a moment in time when nature in all its glory provided a bountiful banquet.

The artwork It’s Mine is available for sale through the David Shepherd Foundation - it will be for sale online from Wednesday 26 June at www.davidshepherd.org.

The exhibition will be at the Mall Galleries from 2 - 6 July 2024 and I hope that some of you will get to see it in the “flesh” so to speak.

And don't forget that you can see more of my work on my own website www.christinelamberth.com.

As always, thanks for reading and following my adventures.

Christine