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Published: October 19th 2009
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The Lion Sleeps Tonight - NOT!
The Third Bridge Lion Pride kept us entertained for a few days. Last night, when the females had killed the buffalo and the pride was starting to feed, we noticed them looking off into the night as though expecting someone. The two male lions in this pride were somewhere in the dark and we knew they would be along any time. Obviously they were expected.
During the night, we heard much fighting, roaring, and at one point the lions charged right through camp chasing off the hyenas.
In the morning, after an early breakfast, we headed over to the kill to see what was happening. The pride had been feeding all night and were lounging around on the road. One of the dominant males was nearby. Shortly after we arrived, he sauntered over to feed. Several young males from the pride were hovering around, inching their way towards the kill, hoping that the big male didn't notice. Ha! He charged with an amazing roar, and they all backed off, to try yet again. They were pretty close, so we assumed they were his offspring. Otherwise he would have killed them on the
spot. This was a congenial pride.
It wasn't long before word got out among some other safari guides that there was a kill to see, and a few vehicles showed up to watch. It was the first time we felt things were a bit crowded. So we drove off for our morning game drive, knowing that we had been there to see the event first hand last night.
TRAGEDY STRIKES We were scheduled for a boat ride into the Xakanaxa Lagoon that day. Saw tons of water birds; we had two people in our group who were avid bird watchers, and as a result, we all became avid bird watchers on this trip. Botswana has over 500 species of birds - how can one resist with that much variety. The birds were absolutely incredible.
It was scorching hot, as usual, over 40 again, and the meager canopy on the boat did little to keep us out of the sun. At some point, Richard set his video camera (Sony HD, no less, with all the lion video on it) down on the seat while juggling sun block, hat, water bottle, binoculars and performing various other heat-relieving maneouvers,
when all at once we heard a splash. You can imagine what it was. Richard didn't dive in because of the crocs and hippos, but by then the camera was at the bottom of the reed-filled lagoon. We felt so bad, and today are still grieving the loss of all our video taken to date. Imagine the insurance agent's face when reading this claim. 'So we were on this boat in the Okavango Delta in Botswana ...'
On the way back to camp, we discovered a visiting male from another pride was courting one of the Third Bridge females, so we had yet another show to watch and hear. Lions are not quiet when they mate. Her grunts calling him can be heard for miles. After a while, the two headed right towards our camp. It turns out that the camp staff had had a show all day with lions wandering in and out of camp and generally lounging around while we were away. In any case, we followed the amorous pair right into camp, where they were headed to the water on the other side of camp for a drink. Lion mating is thirsty stuff.
After showers
and a rest, to the sounds of lions grunting and calling, we left for the evening game drive, and watched the amorous pair some more, hoping to catch them in the act. No such luck. They just laid around, moved, flopped down again, and generally hung around. The rest of the pride hung around, with full bellies, not doing much. So we drove off, for more game spotting, which was spectacular every day and night, by the way. All sorts of game everywhere, so much that we can't remember them all, but this is a short list: impalas, kudu, red lechwe, hippos in the water, elephants, lots of giraffe, baboons, monkeys.
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Judy Wyatt
non-member comment
OH NO!!!
I am grieving with you - actually groaning out loud repeatedly over the loss of your camera and all that amazing footage. What a tragedy, as this is a very appropriate word. So sorry for you, and can only imagine your disappointment. Don't you wish you could just turn the clock back one minute??? It sounds like the rest of your adventures are pretty exciting and very informative and obviously increasing your knowledge of all things African. Hopefully, this event won't spoil the rest of what is happening and you can truly enjoy all that is still left to experience. Greg is in Kelowna today, and travelling up north on his business excursion - no 500 species of wild birds to listen to. I arrived in Arizona yesterday with my niece and am also enjoy high temperatures, but no humidity! Take care and thanks for taking the time to post all your information. We are very interested! Judy