Too close for comfort
Posted by Matt VerHeul | | Posted On Thursday, July 7, 2016 at 5:42 PM
As Christina wrote, in less than 24 hours we had spotted all three of Hwange Park's big cats: leopard, lion and cheetah. Here's the thing - when she wrote that, it hadn't even been 24 hours yet.
So, after our early morning cheetah encounter, lunch and a quick nap, it was off for another afternoon drive. With no sightings reported around the park and the clouds and wind moving in, we settled in for a relaxing evening of just taking in the scenery. Driving for over an hour we saw just a couple of elephants and a dazzle of zebra. The weather was driving the animals away from the watering holes and open areas and into the thick brush. It finally seemed the rush of wildlife spotting was over and everyone was kind of perfectly okay enjoying the calm.
Rounding our way back to camp the radio crackled and the camp manager came on to tell us he'd found a male lion lounging in the grass. We were just two minutes from his location. Our leisurely evening just turned into another stroke of luck. Or, as Calvet excitedly said, "You guys are amazing! There's something about this group."
As we pulled up to the spot we were the only group around and, as usual, I was the last person to see it, but there in the tall grass was a young male lion, one of the sons of Bhubese. Calvet turned the vehicle toward the grass and began creeping toward the lion.
Christina and I both started flashing back to the stories shared over dinner the previous night of a guide in Hwange killed last year by a lion in a very gruesome attack, as well as a woman who was killed inside a vehicle in South Africa. Apprehension was thick with the group as we kept getting closer and closer and closer. By the time Calvet finally stopped the lion was crouching below me only a few feet away. It could have leapt onto my seat in a single step. I scooched towards Christina's side trying to put as much vehicle as possible between me and the beast of a cat.
Despite Calvet's assurance that the animals don't view us as individuals when we're in the jeep, I swear the lion looked me right in the eyes and identified each of us calculating how he would respond to our presence. He licked his lips to taste the air and get a better sense of us. I snapped a few photos and tried to indicate to Calvet that at any point I was okay with us moving along. Calvet could tell that we were all uneasy with the situation and began to crack jokes that the lion was licking his lips deciding which of us looked tastiest.
Once the lion assessed us he relaxed and rolled to his side. At that point I finally relaxed and believed Calvet that the lion was not disturbed by us. We all loosened up and everyone got their lion selfies. By the time anther group from our camp arrived, we had been observing this beautiful cat for what felt like an eternity. With the sun beginning to set we said goodbye to our new friend and pulled away allowing the other campers to get their photos.
To round out the cat experience, on the way back to camp we also caught a glimpse of the small African wild cat, which essentially looks like a feral house cat. We watched for several minutes as it crept through the thick grass.
Anyone who comes to Africa expecting to see what we managed to see would probably be disappointed. So much of it is dumb luck. It rarely happens that people see everything. But even I am guilty of coming to Africa with the expectation of seeing a big cat of some kind. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that in a single days time we would see all three of the big predators.
It's hard to even put in words these 24 hours. If our trip ended tomorrow it would have been worth every penny, and we are only halfway through.
Rounding our way back to camp the radio crackled and the camp manager came on to tell us he'd found a male lion lounging in the grass. We were just two minutes from his location. Our leisurely evening just turned into another stroke of luck. Or, as Calvet excitedly said, "You guys are amazing! There's something about this group."
As we pulled up to the spot we were the only group around and, as usual, I was the last person to see it, but there in the tall grass was a young male lion, one of the sons of Bhubese. Calvet turned the vehicle toward the grass and began creeping toward the lion.Christina and I both started flashing back to the stories shared over dinner the previous night of a guide in Hwange killed last year by a lion in a very gruesome attack, as well as a woman who was killed inside a vehicle in South Africa. Apprehension was thick with the group as we kept getting closer and closer and closer. By the time Calvet finally stopped the lion was crouching below me only a few feet away. It could have leapt onto my seat in a single step. I scooched towards Christina's side trying to put as much vehicle as possible between me and the beast of a cat.
Despite Calvet's assurance that the animals don't view us as individuals when we're in the jeep, I swear the lion looked me right in the eyes and identified each of us calculating how he would respond to our presence. He licked his lips to taste the air and get a better sense of us. I snapped a few photos and tried to indicate to Calvet that at any point I was okay with us moving along. Calvet could tell that we were all uneasy with the situation and began to crack jokes that the lion was licking his lips deciding which of us looked tastiest.
To round out the cat experience, on the way back to camp we also caught a glimpse of the small African wild cat, which essentially looks like a feral house cat. We watched for several minutes as it crept through the thick grass.
Anyone who comes to Africa expecting to see what we managed to see would probably be disappointed. So much of it is dumb luck. It rarely happens that people see everything. But even I am guilty of coming to Africa with the expectation of seeing a big cat of some kind. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that in a single days time we would see all three of the big predators.
.JPG)
Post a Comment