About 2.5 million years ago, the Ngornogoro volcano did what volcanoes do – blew its top! Smoke, fire, lava, ash, destruction and death rained down on the surrounding area until at last the volcano quieted and ultimately became dormant. Left behind was the Ngornogoro crater in the Arusha region of northeastern Tanzania.

As time went by, the layers of sedimentary ash provided the foundation for the evolution of an ecological wonder: a 100 square kilometer area bounded by high natural walls that supports about 25,000 wildlife.

Prehistoric looking like no other animal in this part of Africa, the rhinoceros tends to prefer secure, wooded areas though they will come out in search of food and water especially on cooler days.

A collection of Big Cat images:

Hyenas are the garbage disposal of the savanna – they eat absolutely everything right down to the bones. Pack animals to the core, they steal or kill their next meal as a pack. But once the food is secure, it’s every hyena for themself. They attack the kill, tearing off a piece and then sprinting away about 30 yards to devour it. Then the run full speed back to the kill for another bite. It’s wild aggressive manic animalistic – and fascinating to observe.