Virtual Safari:
Lions
Perhaps the biggest of the Big Five (in name, if not in stature) is the King of Beasts. Despite their reputations as fierce hunters, lions appear docile and move lazily around the reserve. They look at you with the gaze of indifference, as though they could eat you or not. Don't let them fool you, they are incredibly strong, deceptively swift, and surprisingly cunning. It's no wonder they are the dominant predator in the region.
We came across these two young males (left and below)
on the way to our camp in Kruger National Park. As you can see,
one was blocking the road and catching some sun while the other chose
the shade. Each stood about 4 feet at the shoulder (they weigh in
excess of 400 lbs.). These photos were taken from a distance of
12-15 feet.
Lions hunt mostly at night, with females handling the responsibility. Their main prey are zebras, gazelle/antelope, and wildebeasts. Even with their amazing gifts, they are only successful on 25-30% of their hunts and will resort to scavenging when necessary. Despite their reputations as fearsome man-eaters, they do not normally attack people. We say this remembering that a young girl was mauled by a lioness a week before we arrived at Kruger, so they are to be treated with extreme caution.
This lioness (right) appeared to be hunting through the
remains of a major fire in Kruger. It was caused by a lightning strike a
few days before we arrived; since it was started naturally, the rangers let it
burn itself out. We saw her at about 25 yards and noticed she was
breathing hard. We guessed she just missed out on lunch and stopped to
catch her breath.
Our first lion sighting in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi park was, by far,
the best lion sighting EVER! The guide stopped the truck to point out the
lioness sleeping in the grass not 3 feet from the road. Us 3 tourists
missed her completely. Our arrival woke her up, but she seemed more
inclined to hit the snooze button than to jump up and greet the new day. The guide was just telling us that she looked pregnant when we noticed the second lion. Actually, he noticed us. He popped his head out of bushes,
roared (and showed us his large, pointy pearly whites) and then jumped out to
investigate us. On the way to our truck, he passed the third lion
(another female) who stuck her head up at the commotion. Three lions--one
of whom was now circling our truck--at less than 20 yards in the early morning
mist. The guide assured us the male was only asserting his authority...he
wasn't in attack mode. Unfortunately, we were so shocked (alright we were scared)
we could only get a few decent pictures and about 20 seconds of video!
