Background:
The sun had just set and prior to our arrival a pride of nine lions
had recently ‘murdered’ a fledgling zebra (awwwwwww!).
Although bachelor males do indeed hunt once they become part of a
pride with their own family it is more often than not the women that
do the heavy lifting when it comes to food. This instance had been no
exception. Evidently, the three lionesses of the clan were in the
process of feeding themselves and their cubs when the lone male in
the group asserted his patriarchal authority and purloined the
recently departed.
This
is when we arrived. Another vehicle, using its headlights as a
spotlight, was focused on the ‘thief’ while the females and their
brood (five in total) were about a hundred feet away looking on,
totally dejected, as the husband/daddy selfishly enjoyed the fruits
of their labor. Just like a man. Bastard. One lioness still had a
bloody chin. We then pulled up in front of the male and watched the
cruelty unfold.
We
just sat and observed the cantankerous kitty slowly devour a baby
zebra from the ass end. It was simply mesmerizing. Equally intriguing
was the soap opera that played out before us. Every so often one or
more of the kids would edge closer and closer in hopes that daddy
would stop being a gluttonous hog and spread the wealth. He was
having none of it and articulated his lack of beneficence with a
menacing growl. This, unfortunately for the kids, is the natural
order of things in the world of lions.
As
I mentioned in the previous post our 4wd drive was completely open
and exposed. Normally, I am fairly composed in the presence of
wildlife but I have to admit there was something a little unsettling
about having a female lion walking close enough to the rear of your
vehicle (where I was sitting) to rub up against it. I leaned over to
have a look and was no more than two feet away from the pretty kitty.
I could hear her breathing. Nothing will make your heart rate
spike rapidly like the whisper of ‘Don’t
move’ from
your guide. Having said lioness look you directly in the eye will do
nothing to soothe your anxiety. I [colorful expletive] loved it!
From
what I was told as long as you stay calm, make no sudden movements,
and remain seated everything is hunkey dorey. Do something stupid
like stand up and you are no longer a part of the solid mass. You are
singular, distinct and could very well be perceived as a threat. Not
a good position to find yourself in the presence lion cubs. Stories
were passed around later about an instance where an unfortunate soul
stood up in a similar vehicle in the company of a leopard thereby
instigating a vicious attack that left the occupants alive but
severely injured. No one wants to that guy.
In the
beginning there were two other vehicles alongside ours but we found
ourselves alone after about thirty minutes. This astonished me. You
fly thousands of miles, spend thousands of dollars, and when you
encounter one of nature’s most enchanting dramas you do what?
Go back to the tent for dinner and a snooze. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING
ME?! Who are these people? You couldn’t tear us away. We had our
own vehicle and front row seats for a wildlife reality show. We
weren’t moving for dick! I had to see the
conclusion. [Insert dramatic voice over here] How would the
story end? Would daddy’s heart soften a bit prompting him to
relinquish a bit of meat to feed his hungry family or would he go on
being a miserable prick? If you chose ‘b), miserable
prick’, you just won a free zebra throw rug!
One of
our fellow guests at Kwara Camp in the adjacent vehicle did not share
our enthusiasm. In fact he found being this exposed in the presence
of potentially dangerous felines altogether unsettling. He was
borderline petrified and even prompted his driver to back off a bit.
We learned this when an American named Fred asked to hop into our
vehicle after his party (to include Mr. Scaredy Pants) decided to
call it a night. We were more than happy to oblige as we sensed that
his level of fascination was on par with ours. So we sat. We
watched. We waited. Witnessing an adult male lion engulf a baby zebra
in its entirely is not an easy thing to describe. I can almost still
hear the bones crunching in his mouth and the glare of the zebra’s
open eyes will forever be etched in my memory. Incredible. Just plain
incredible.
However,
I would have to say the highlight of the entire evening was listening
to the deep drawn-out roar of the three females. To sit there in
complete darkness listening to the guttural quasi-howl of three
lionesses bellow in unison is enough to hypnotize any mortal (or
immortal for that matter). Absolutely magnificent. It is moments like
that which make you feel like the luckiest person on the planet. Such
moments are exceedingly precious and far too rare. How many do we
really get?
The
finale (at least as far as we were concerned) came when Grumpo
dispatched with the head of the unfortunate zebra, skull and all.
Ever watch a lion lap up zebra brain? Try it. When all that remained
was a bloody patch of grass we fired up the 4wd and made our way back
to camp. Our guides, Kenny and Mopani, were happy to move on.
Although late night game drives are fairly common we had been sitting
in one place for the better part of three hours and did not get back
to camp until after 1:00 am (or was it 2:00?). The ride back was a
bit adrenalizing as well with elephants crashing through the forest
and another pride of lions seemingly on the prowl for a meal. I did
not have the heart to request we stop and have a look. No need to be
greedy I suppose. Still, I had no desire to sleep. I would have been
happy to stay out all night.
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| Shhhhhhhhhhhhh......Kitty's sleeping. |
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'Love me or hate me, but spare me your indifference.' -- Libbie Fudim