Walk this way - Lion prints

 

Lions - reality V stereotype

If you expect a Safari to be full of roaring Lions chasing herds of Buffalo down with flashing teeth and razer claws, think again.

The majority of Lion sightings are like this.

Lion are most likely to be seen "flat" and spend the majority of their lives sleeping. This is not to say they are lazy. Their lifestyle is far from it. They are just supremely energy efficient.
 

The strange case of the missing boot

Wildlife can turn up the funniest things.

On a day long game drive from Flatdogs Camp we saw, obscured at first by scrub, a group of four young Lions. Stopping to take a look, it quickly became clear they were fighting over a "prize" of some sort, something one had and the others wanted.

It turned out to be a rubber welly boot.

As we had encountered the group just outside another Camp we guessed the Lions had found the boot and, fascinated by the small and texture, removed it as a trophy.

It's raining cats and dogs

 

There's always a blade of grass in the way!

 

The hunt is on

Just after viewing a Leopard we stopped for our sundowner G&Ts.

It was almost dark now and as we sipped our drinks, out of the gloom came a feline shape - "A Leopard!".

Then another - "Two Leopards!!" - then a third "They're not Leopards - they're Lion!".

A scrambled pack up of drinks and we were back into the vehicle, slowly following a pride of seven Lion, silently flowing through the bush like a malevolent stream seeking victims to pull under.

The only vehicle around we tracked the pride's progress for almost half an hour before they went to ground. Here, drawing on his years of experience, our guide , Kennedy, switched off the lights and we sat in total darkness. 

The hunt was on.

Around 100m away a herd of Impala were grazing in the dark, totally unaware of the threat gradually crawling towards them.

To sit a matter of metres away from Lion doing what they do best is an experience almost beyond words. The only sound above the breathing of the people next to you in the vehicle is the beating of your heart. You try to breath more shallowly, urging the Lion on, yet terrified for the Impala.

Every now and  again the scene to our front was lit with a light with a red filter which neither prey nor predator can see. Once , as the light came on we looked down to the side of the vehicle to see a young Lion using the truck as cover - just five metres away.

In the event this hunt failed, something spooked the Impala who, amidst a cacophony of snorted alarm calls ran away into the dark. The Lion tough took this in their stride - re-grouped and once again began the silent flow through the bush seeking a meal.

We left them to return to dinner at camp knowing it would not be long before they too were feeding.

Lion portrait

Lion portrait

Lion eating

On a full day safari drive we stopped for lunch near the river and just as we were packing up saw a lion emerge from behind a sand bank.

He went for a drink and we drove down to see where he went back to.

It turned out to be two brothers eating a baby hippo. Sadly the one pictured looked pretty old and his teeth were broken meaning he was licking the carcass rather than biting pieces off.

Big Yawn

Snoozy Lion

This Lion could hardly keep its eyes open. Tough at the top I guess.

The bimble with the tumble

 One of the fantastic things about the two bush camps run by shenton Safaris , mwamba and Kaingo is that it's possible to opt to walk between them rather than be driven from one to another.

The walk is about 7km and takes three hours or so. On the way you encounter whatever the African bush throws your way.

Here we are setting off from Mwamba camp, just the two of us, our guide Patrick and armed scout Edgar.

 First we got a lesson in termites and how some use mud to shade themselves when working on a tree.

 Then the mood changed. Edgar (AKA "The President"), our scout, spotted a pride of Lion about 100m away. The matriarch was lying out to the front and could clearly see us. In lion terms 100m is about 6 seconds of running.

You can just about make out some of them just over Edgar's left shoulder.

 This was just the point, as we quietly watched them watching us, that Jane fell over. The ground was pretty rough and a misplaced footfall sent her tumbling down. We held our breaths - would this provoke the lion?

Not at all - Lion like their sleep and this pride wasn't for charging around - even for a tasty white woman writhing on the ground.

As we walked on from our fantastic Lion spot I noticed how the group was walking so much closer together.

Night drive

One of the joys of the camps in the South Luangwa is being able to do night drives. Here you can pick up nocturnal species and much of the action of the bush takes place just after dusk. 

The one snag is taking pictures is problematic - bumpy roads and long exposures are not a good mix.

 

However the odd shot works - especially when the subject is a pride of lions silently traversing their territory.

Another blocked road

Yet another hold up. This time a pride of lions doing what they do best.
Unfortunately this caused quite a tail back of safari vehicles - as whilst they were certainly an attraction, the pride had totally blocked the road meaning it was one way in and one way out for everyone wanting to see them.

Let sleeping Lions lie

Lion near Nottens Bush Camp SA 2013

Sunrise in the Timbavati 2013

Umlani sunrise

Lion drinking Timbavati 2013

Thirsty work being a lion

Lion cubs Umlani 2013

The kids at Play

Dinner time tug of war

Tug of war for the best bits of Buffalo

Lion kill South Africa 2013

Umlani Bush Camp - Resident lion pride at dinner