Lions at a Zebra Kill
On the 30th June 2011 on another cold morning, we had all had our coffee at the lodge and had set off for our usual morning safari game drive. We were about 20 minutes out when Quinton radioed myself and Warren and told us about a lion kill not too far from our immediate position. We kept it a secret from our guests Allison, Chris, Joanna, Amanda, Justin and Shawna as we wanted to surprise them. As we approached the road where the action had taken place we saw a pool of blood and faeces on the road. A few meters ahead of us we saw the zebra carcass and one of the young males still feeding on it. We wanted to get a closer look so we went off road for a bit to be able to get a better view. The male then stopped eating, looked at us curiously and carried on eating after a short while. Then from behind the bushes appeared a 2nd male lion, he walked past his brother and lay down again behind a small shrub.
After viewing these majestic animals in such a calm environment we carried on with our drive and decided to return to that same spot in the afternoon to see if we could get the same kind of experience, and it paid off. When we returned after dark with me using the spotlight to scout the area we saw one of the lionesses in the middle of the road. She ignored the vehicle and walked right past it and not long afterwards gave a loud roar in order to communicate with the others. The 3 young males then responded to her call and came round the corner from the other side, they also walked right by the vehicle and let loose a great roar which we felt vibrate in our chests.
We then followed them for about 100m where they went and lay down in a small open area. They were resting about 10m away from the vehicle and started to roar, and in the distance you could hear another roar from the 2nd female (the young male’s aunt). We were with them for about 20 minutes watching them relax (sleep) like most cats do. They also would sit up and just flop down a few steps from where they were out of total exhaustion. Then out of nowhere the 2nd female appeared, her sister and the three males jumped up and rushed over to greet her, she then bared her teeth as a sign of dominance. After showing them who is the boss she also lay down with the others and had her paw over that of the other female.
We simply then sat there and took it all in for about half an hour then moved on back towards the lodge for a great dinner. We enjoyed to watch them interact with each other but had to keep in mind these cats were not your everyday housecat. For sure, observing lions in their natural habitat is always the highlight of any safari holiday in Africa!
Special thanks to Joanna, Chris, Amanda, Allison, Justin and Shawna and last but not least to our Ranger Warren for the great drive.
Over and Out
Arran