Sept. 20, 2003
FREE STATE, South Africa — John Varty picks up what's left of the wildebeest carcass by the horns. He estimates the weight of the skin and bones at about 110 pounds.

"You know you've got two fat tigers when you can pull a carcass around and nobody moves," he says.

In the past 56 hours, Ron and Julie have feasted on this large female wildebeest. About all that's left is what remains to be licked off. And the tigers' barbed tongues are well equipped to do just that.

"I'd love to weigh Ron right now," Varty remarks. "My bet is he's eaten two-thirds of this wildebeest. He's easily 400 pounds."

Ron lies on his back, bloated and stretched in the shade of a distant tree. His bulging white-furred belly heaves with each quick breath. Julie is rotund today, too. But at least she rouses herself enough to leap onto the hood of the Land Rover, further denting it in the process.

Varty looks around. His tigers are happy, having hunted successfully and fed greedily. Varty estimates that they ate some 240 pounds of wildebeest meat in two days.

But something's wrong. The vultures are missing, and the hyenas and jackals. If this were a healthy ecosystem, Varty says, they'd all be here, having their share of the spoils.

"There's no energy flow here," he observes. "The farmers have killed the energy flow. As the sun drops, we should be hearing hyenas calling and watching jackals and vultures pinching pieces of meat."

The massive sanctuary's former owners used much of the land to graze livestock. The land and the natural cycles need time to recuperate, Varty says. "Next time you come here, you'll see them."