Goin' on a lion hunt
Posted by Christina | | Posted On Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at 5:54 AM
Goin' on a lion hunt
Goin' to catch a big one
I'm not scared
The childhood chant came back to me as we steered our jeep away from the waving blonde savannas and into the shadowy woods in search of lions. A wave of adrenaline and just a tad bit of fear made my heart skip a beat as a possible encounter with the big cats came into view.
We had made our way to Hwange National Park from Motobo Hills the day before and had encountered a bevy of beautiful animals that morning: zebra, impala, baboon, giraffe, ostrich, kudu, warthog, wildebeest, sable and loads of elephants. But the cats remained elusive. Our first spin through the forest early in the morning yielded tracks of one of the alpha male lions, but no sightings. We pressed on to the open savannas in the hopes of encountering a cheetah. Still no luck.
As the morning wore on, we wound down some roads near the edge of the park, but received intel from another guide who had been through the area that there were no sightings. Slightly defeated, we made our way back toward camp, detouring through the forest one last time to see if we could follow the lion tracks we had spotted earlier to get some ideas on his whereabouts.
To follow the tracks effectively would require tracking by foot, so we piled out of the jeep and followed our fearless guide, Calvet, who led the way with rifle in-hand. Crunching our way through the leaves, brambles and grasses, we worked in circles until we spotted the lion's path, which headed out of the area. It appeared he left the tracks on his rounds of his territory over night and was now in another section of the park.
After our lunch break and midday siesta, we reassembled for our afternoon game drive. Calvet enthusiastically told us that he spoke with another guide who had spotted the tracks of a large lion pride - the former Cecil the Lion's pride - that afternoon in an area we had been previously, but it was a long way from camp. Would we be up for going that far out so late in the day? Hell, yes! We jumped in the jeep and sped off across the park to beat the fading sunlight.
As we wound our way back to some of our spots from earlier in the day, the tension and anticipation mounted. We all rabidly scanned the tree lines, just hoping for a glimpse of a lion. Still nothing. Our guide continued to keep his nose to the ground in search of tracks. At last, we found the tracks of the pride, 10 lions in all, and they had crossed over the railroad tracks and outside the park in the afternoon, likely just a short time after we had departed the area earlier in the day.
"Shit!" Calvet exclaimed. "Shit! Shit" He was pissed. We pressed on, but Calvet was clearly upset, grunting in frustration at the missed opportunity.
As the sun faded and dusk quickly shifted to dark, Calvet made a last ditch effort down unauthorized roads, telling us that if we got caught, we'd make up a story about one of our group getting sick (Matt was quickly designated as the sick actor) and that we had to cut across the park to get him back to camp quickly. Oh, and if Matt could puke to show some true sick effect, that would certainly help.
We came upon a clearing with a group of elephants at a watering hole and out of the corner of my eye, a lithe body with long tail slunk into the shadows. "Cheetah!" I hollered, pointing to direct Calvet. He hit the breaks and, after catching sight, corrected me. "No, it's a leopard. You guys, this is so amazing." An elephant, pissed that a predator would even think to be at their watering hole, tried to chase the cat off, but it turned back toward us, determined to get some water. The shy cat crept away from us bit by bit, but Calvet shone his spotlight on the spotted cat for us all to see. Then, out of the shadows, slunk a second leopard. A mating pair! Calvet, clearly excited, said, "This never happens. Oh my gosh, you guys, this is amazing." The pair seemed as though they were going to slip away, but instead worked their way back down to the watering hole, braving the elephants to take a nice drink. All the while our cameras were snapping away, just hoping to capture anything we could with virtually no light as dark rolled in.
As the leopards took their last gulps and trotted off, the group cheered in elation. We couldn't believe our dumb luck! Leopards are among the hardest to find - even Calvet hadn't seen one in months, let alone two together. We whooped and cheered our way along the roads back to camp when, all of a sudden, another vehicle came down the road. Headlights switched off. Spotlight on. We pulled over. Calvet said, "Guys, look what's coming." I caught just a slight glimpse of light in a mane.
It was the alpha male lion we had tracked earlier in the day, Bhubese, walking down the road in the pitch dark straight for our vehicle!
I could not believe my eyes. "Holy shit. Oh my God. Holy shit. Oh my God," I mumbled under my breath. The lion sauntered toward us, completely unconcerned with our vehicle. As he approached and walked beside us, mere feet from our jeep, we all stared, mouths agape, and he stared right back at us as he walked by. No roar. No threat. Just walked right on by like he'd walked past us a million times on the street before. It was one of the most exhilarating and truly unbelievable animal experiences I've ever had.
We followed behind him for a few more minutes as he continued to walk down the road. Clearly, the whole king of the animals thing is no joke because he did not give a crap about our big vehicle following after him. He definitely had a chip on his shoulder and not one ounce of fear.
Finally, it was time for us to let him continue on in peace toward the main park grounds. As we headed back toward camp, spirits were at an all-time high. A day that looked to be a potential big cat bust yielded not one, but two, sightings - both some of the most unique and special sightings you can possibly have with these elusive creatures.
It was a day when I simply pinch myself to confirm that I am, in fact, here and experiencing this incredible gift of God's creation and creativity. I am truly and utterly in awe.
Goin' to catch a big one
I'm not scared
We had made our way to Hwange National Park from Motobo Hills the day before and had encountered a bevy of beautiful animals that morning: zebra, impala, baboon, giraffe, ostrich, kudu, warthog, wildebeest, sable and loads of elephants. But the cats remained elusive. Our first spin through the forest early in the morning yielded tracks of one of the alpha male lions, but no sightings. We pressed on to the open savannas in the hopes of encountering a cheetah. Still no luck.
As the morning wore on, we wound down some roads near the edge of the park, but received intel from another guide who had been through the area that there were no sightings. Slightly defeated, we made our way back toward camp, detouring through the forest one last time to see if we could follow the lion tracks we had spotted earlier to get some ideas on his whereabouts.
To follow the tracks effectively would require tracking by foot, so we piled out of the jeep and followed our fearless guide, Calvet, who led the way with rifle in-hand. Crunching our way through the leaves, brambles and grasses, we worked in circles until we spotted the lion's path, which headed out of the area. It appeared he left the tracks on his rounds of his territory over night and was now in another section of the park.After our lunch break and midday siesta, we reassembled for our afternoon game drive. Calvet enthusiastically told us that he spoke with another guide who had spotted the tracks of a large lion pride - the former Cecil the Lion's pride - that afternoon in an area we had been previously, but it was a long way from camp. Would we be up for going that far out so late in the day? Hell, yes! We jumped in the jeep and sped off across the park to beat the fading sunlight.
As we wound our way back to some of our spots from earlier in the day, the tension and anticipation mounted. We all rabidly scanned the tree lines, just hoping for a glimpse of a lion. Still nothing. Our guide continued to keep his nose to the ground in search of tracks. At last, we found the tracks of the pride, 10 lions in all, and they had crossed over the railroad tracks and outside the park in the afternoon, likely just a short time after we had departed the area earlier in the day."Shit!" Calvet exclaimed. "Shit! Shit" He was pissed. We pressed on, but Calvet was clearly upset, grunting in frustration at the missed opportunity.
As the sun faded and dusk quickly shifted to dark, Calvet made a last ditch effort down unauthorized roads, telling us that if we got caught, we'd make up a story about one of our group getting sick (Matt was quickly designated as the sick actor) and that we had to cut across the park to get him back to camp quickly. Oh, and if Matt could puke to show some true sick effect, that would certainly help.
We came upon a clearing with a group of elephants at a watering hole and out of the corner of my eye, a lithe body with long tail slunk into the shadows. "Cheetah!" I hollered, pointing to direct Calvet. He hit the breaks and, after catching sight, corrected me. "No, it's a leopard. You guys, this is so amazing." An elephant, pissed that a predator would even think to be at their watering hole, tried to chase the cat off, but it turned back toward us, determined to get some water. The shy cat crept away from us bit by bit, but Calvet shone his spotlight on the spotted cat for us all to see. Then, out of the shadows, slunk a second leopard. A mating pair! Calvet, clearly excited, said, "This never happens. Oh my gosh, you guys, this is amazing." The pair seemed as though they were going to slip away, but instead worked their way back down to the watering hole, braving the elephants to take a nice drink. All the while our cameras were snapping away, just hoping to capture anything we could with virtually no light as dark rolled in.As the leopards took their last gulps and trotted off, the group cheered in elation. We couldn't believe our dumb luck! Leopards are among the hardest to find - even Calvet hadn't seen one in months, let alone two together. We whooped and cheered our way along the roads back to camp when, all of a sudden, another vehicle came down the road. Headlights switched off. Spotlight on. We pulled over. Calvet said, "Guys, look what's coming." I caught just a slight glimpse of light in a mane.
It was the alpha male lion we had tracked earlier in the day, Bhubese, walking down the road in the pitch dark straight for our vehicle!
I could not believe my eyes. "Holy shit. Oh my God. Holy shit. Oh my God," I mumbled under my breath. The lion sauntered toward us, completely unconcerned with our vehicle. As he approached and walked beside us, mere feet from our jeep, we all stared, mouths agape, and he stared right back at us as he walked by. No roar. No threat. Just walked right on by like he'd walked past us a million times on the street before. It was one of the most exhilarating and truly unbelievable animal experiences I've ever had.
We followed behind him for a few more minutes as he continued to walk down the road. Clearly, the whole king of the animals thing is no joke because he did not give a crap about our big vehicle following after him. He definitely had a chip on his shoulder and not one ounce of fear.Finally, it was time for us to let him continue on in peace toward the main park grounds. As we headed back toward camp, spirits were at an all-time high. A day that looked to be a potential big cat bust yielded not one, but two, sightings - both some of the most unique and special sightings you can possibly have with these elusive creatures.
It was a day when I simply pinch myself to confirm that I am, in fact, here and experiencing this incredible gift of God's creation and creativity. I am truly and utterly in awe.
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