These last two days of the main part of the OAT's Ultimate Safari Adventure are collapsed into one post. This is partly because it has been somewhat more difficult to access the Internet, and partly because we've had a spectacular experience that was overwhelming to write about.
Long before we arrived, a large pride (21) of lions occupied this area. Several males who were related had fathered many young lions with many females. A more powerful male entered the area and killed the dominant male, causing the pride to split up, seek shelter in subareas, and separated the remaining males from their mates and the young lions. To add to the trauma, one of the young mothers lost one of her daughters to a leopard in a violent attack.
Early in a morning safari on Thursday, we encountered three mothers and four of their young attempting to cross a river to pursue a herd of water buffalo approachng a few miles away.
Five safari vehicles lined up on the other side of the river from the lions, ands watched cautiously as the small pride carefully tested the riverbank and waters for the presence of crocodiles.
It was almost comical to watch as they individually and collectively gathered their courage, tested the water surface, and dared each other to be the first to jump in. Finally, one took the leap. Pat caught it on
video, and i'm going to try to put her video up on YouTube (with a link here). After one made it with a leap almost all the way across the river, and the next one leap in and swam across unharmed, the others followed suit one at a time.
Shaking off the water on the other side, and following their moms, they played together testing each other's fighting prowess as the pride made its way across a large grassy plain toward the dense forest in the distance.
We raced ahead to try to arrive at the point where the lions could be expected to encounter the herd of water buffalo. When there, our guides gave us their understandings of the many ways that an attack the herd could occur.
We all hoped that we could be in the right place to watch such an attack, when we got a call on the radio that one of the other vehicles had witnessed the attack on a single, isolated buffalo aparte from the herd. We raced off to the location, and found the seven lions attacking the buffalo in a coordinated manner. One had a grip on the mouth, suffocating it. One was gnawing into its back, and another tearing into the shoulder ner the ribcage. The others waited their turn on the ground nearby. The buffalo struggled to keep from dying, but was soon overcome.
We watched as one of the clearest examples of life's cruel requirements took place. The survival of the lions depends on their ability to hunt and eat other beautiful animals. We left during a pause in their eating, as most lie exhausted on the ground around it.
We continued our morning drive, spotting lots of other wildlife, and then returned to our camp for brunch, lectures, and some rest. We also had to decide which of the hundreds of photographs we had taken this morning were perfect enough to make the final cuts in our collections. Needless to say, we're still deciding.
Later Thursday afternoon, we revisited the kill site, and found the carcass still mostly whole, but still surrounded by possessive lions. we wondered how long a meal it would provide, and learned that many others (hyenas, vultures, other lions) were becoming aware of the kill. It was becoming a race to consume.
Soon, we were alerted that a single male lion was coming from the same are that the seen had earlier come from. Attempting to
cross the river at the same point, we saw the sheer power of experience and maturity. Following the same trail, the big lion roared his way to where he thought the kill would be. Our guide positioned our vehicle just ahead of his pathway, and we wathced and listened as he beckoned their response.
We learned from our guide that the females at the kill site were more interested in making sure their young got the bulk of the Buffalo meat, and knew their response would bring him running. Though the females would eventually need him to keep the hyenas away, he would claim the carcass for himself.
We left as the male wandered in vain, continually roaring and marking territory.
Friday was our last day of adventure safari experiences. It was no less exciting, and included a pool full of yawning hippos, another bull elephant in search of sex, and a very patient owl above us at our sundown drink site. Each of our two-hour outings brings us new animal species and greater number of those already seen. It does seem like, however, we're getting a little bored with zebras, giraffes, elephants and hornbills
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