Hyaena Mother with cubs

During the three month tour I have just completed, we came across so many wonderful sights. One of them being on an early morning drive while staying at Pretoriuskop Camp in Kruger National Park.

Turning a corner, there was a mother Hyaena suckling two cubs of about 8 months old. This was a day where the light was just in the wrong place to get decent pictures as we had to shoot tight into it. She quickly got them out of the way as we approached. 

Leaving the dam, we came across the same Hyaena and lo and behold, she had another set of smaller cubs with her and was suckling them! I thought the first time I saw her she was rather swollen with milk for such large cubs but now I understood why.

These pictures are awful as now they were on the wrong side of the car for me and I had to take them through the window. Once again she quickly got them off the road into the bush.

 She stood up so quickly that both cubs toppled backwards, LOL!!

The shaft of sunlight catching this youngster somehow really caught my attention.

Here are three interesting videos:
Mother feeding cubs  http://youtu.be/bhg01V2yDpE
Hyaena vs warthog  http://youtu.be/onKpajyPeCU
Too close for comfort http://youtu.be/msvByAVKpWU

Info: Unique Facts about Wildlife in South Africa (Joan Young)