You Don’t Always Get What You Want
If we are in conflict with nature, then we are in conflict with ourselves. Rohan Donovan
Joseph greeted us in the predawn light with a report from the Jungle News aka BBN, the Beast Broadcasting Network, where local Maasai guides share wildlife sightings via text and cell messages. “Jambo, I’ve just heard there are some lion cubs south of here near the Tanzanian border.” We grinned, “Great! Let’s see if we can find them.” As the land cruiser bumped down the escarpment, we unpacked our camera gear hopeful Day 3 on the Maasai Mara might include another encounter with lions.
©kathykarn
The morning dawned cool and clear as we drove south on our lion hunt. Joseph’s understanding of the contours of the land, plus tips from his friends took us to a rocky outcrop rising above the savanna. Tucked into a hollow on the rock we discovered 3 lions cubs snuggled tightly together for a morning nap. Where was mama?
©kathykarn
We scanned the landscape and spotted two lions on the far side of the valley. It appeared they had left the cubs to go hunting. When lions are newborn, females will leave an adult behind to protect the cubs from other predators like hyenas. Often, females give birth around the same time so whoever is babysitting can nurse the cubs. Parenting duties are shared. These cubs were about 3-4 months old so the mother or mothers, trusted they could be left alone for a short time. Many mammals leave their young in a secret place when they go out to find food. It’s fascinating to me how the little ones know to stay put. They’re more obedient than most toddlers!
We decided to follow the lions as best we could from a distance. We spotted a third lion trailing the duo. They climbed out of the valley and headed south. A termite mound provided a perfect lookout spot to survey the landscape.
©kathykarn
Based on their posture, something was gripping the lions’ attention. As mentioned in last week’s story, lions have remarkable eyesight and can see movement as far as 2.4 kms away. We followed the direction of the lions’ stare and spotted a single “Old General” grazing on the far slope.
An "Old General" is an older male Cape buffalo that has been pushed out of the main herd by younger, stronger bulls. They are identifiable by their massive size, worn appearance, and heavy, bossed horns. They often form small groups of 5 or 6 with other older bulls for protection or live alone on the fringes of the herd’s territory. They are renowned as belligerent grumpy old men with unpredictable temperaments and are regarded as among the most dangerous animals in Africa. Even though he was old and alone, this bull was an ambitious target for the lion trio. The buffalo settled down to rest seemingly unaware of the approaching threat.
©kathykarn
The lions slowly fanned out, one to the left of the sentinel on the termite mound, the other to the right. Perfectly camouflaged, they became invisible in the tall grass. We had front row seats to observe their attack plan and stealth. There was no rush, lions are very patient hunters. They were a good distance from their target; this was going to take time. Pole, pole (slowly, slowly) they began to creep closer.
©kathykarn
We watched with growing anticipation through our long lenses, switching from the unsuspicious buffalo to the pair of phantoms sneaking ahead in the grass. Suddenly a loud scream erupted from the hill. We swing our cameras back to the starting line. The sentinel was missing. Where did she go? That sounded like a wart hog fighting for its life.
I don’t know what happened, but I think the middle lion was distracted by a passing wart hog family and grabbed a piglet. Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush kind of thinking. The impending drama with the Old General ended abruptly and the lions abandoned their hunt.
©kathykarn
Now in the heat of the day, the lions turned towards home base. Those cubs were due for a feeding. Maybe they’d have a side order of piglet, we weren’t sure, we didn’t see the evidence. One thing was clear, the lions decided this wasn't the best time or moment to tackle a formidable opponent like an Old General. Perhaps they would return later under the cover of darkness …
©kathykarn
The cubs began to stir as mama approached. Lions are dedicated mothers, although this lion had an empty stomach, she still had to feed the kids. Her needs had to wait, and the buffalo got to live for another day.
©kathykarn
