Zambia Safari Part I: Big Cats
Warning to readers: Are you squeamish about seeing blood? This post contains graphic photos and videos of African carnivore predators doing what they do to survive.
Lion Camp sunrise over water
At 5:25 a.m., the sun was still below the horizon, but its warm glow filled the sky and reflected on the water below our viewing deck. There was just enough light to safely walk to the meeting area for a cup of coffee and bowl of cereal to sedate the grumbling of our empty stomachs during the next four hours until we returned to camp for a substantial breakfast.
We climbed into our safari jeep promptly at 6 a.m. for the day’s adventure. But first, a quick inventory of carry-ons: Sun hat? ✔️ Water? ✔️ Camera? ✔️ Batteries and memory cards? ✔️. OK, good to go.
What, exactly, might be in store for us, we did not know. We were alert, attentive, and hopeful. After all, we held front row tickets for a command performance of Cats. Not the celebrated, long-running Broadway musical composed by Andrew Loyd Webber, but a true wildlife drama that has played out daily across the African veld since before recorded time.
Mukupa, our guide at Lion Camp, was skilled in interpreting the meaning of the animal tracks left overnight on the dirt roads which we travelled: how recent, what direction, which predator was following what prey, and who was following them. Lucky for us, big cats such as lions and leopards (and hyenas who may not be far behind) find walking on the dirt roads easier on the paws v.s. traversing the rugged bush.
Paw of sleeping juvenile lion
It did not take long for our adrenaline to begin flowing. A mere sixteen minutes out had us center stage with a lioness, and the very fresh zebra kill she had made during the preceding darkness. She lay nearby, apparently satiated by her meal of the nutritious internal organs and eyes of her prey. There she would stay, throughout the heat of the day, jealously guarding her prize.
Lioness guarding her zebra kill shortly after sunrise
It may seem counter intuitive, but in the lion kingdom, females generally do the hunting. The job of the male is to guard the territory, and the pride, from interloping males. As a reward, the males participate in the feast at a later hour. Unique in the family of cats, lions (Pantera Leo) exhibit obvious sexual dimorphism, making it easy to distinguish males ( the ones with manes), from the females (who do not have manes).
We returned to the site the next morning to discover a dramatically different scene. In place of a lioness, a lone juvenile male now dominated the tableau. Instead of a largely intact zebra, what remained was a gradually disappearing rib cage. Of course, vultures had also arrived, keeping their distance from the big cat enjoying his meal, but respectfully picking at the ground amongst themselves for the remains of zebra innards.
Male lion standing over zebra kill
It was all something we might have watched on a National Geographic special. The critical difference, though, was that we were there, in our safari jeep, less than 15 meters away. Spellbound would describe our emotional state at what we were hearing and seeing.
Juvenile male lion consumes zebra kill
After several minutes, our Lion King to be seemed to tire of our presence, not to mention the constant gaze we put upon him. He eventually demonstrated his disdain for us by hauling the zebra carcass off to a location behind a branch barrier where he could dine in peace, and gave a look that seemed to say: “stay away.”
Juvenile male lion carries away a zebra carcass.
During another game drive later that evening, we came across a lion pride relaxing in the cooler night air. We observed a lioness drinking from a pool of water, as well as a magnificent black maned male who tolerated posing for us: open wide, say “Aaah.”
Male lion yawning
As extraordinary as these two outings had been, other incredible adventures awaited to fill our senses with wonder and awe. Stayed tuned for my upcoming posts, Zambia Safari Part II: The Leopards, and Zambia Safari Part III: All Creatures Great and Small. Coming soon to a computer near you.
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