Introduction 1995
Not having seen lions before in the wild, my co-guide and friend drove me straight into the middle of a pride of four lionesses which lay still under the Mtshibi (Large False Mopane). I clearly remember what I thought was a very loud heart beat, so loud that I was afraid the big tawny predators would sense the fear racing through my body, they lay unpeturbed, as though we were not there. The only sign of life in them was the occasional flicker of the tail and snarl of the face in a very annoyed way, in an attempt to ward the irritating flies off their dark scared faces and empty bellies.
That afternoon we had gone to Makalolo plains and enjoyed the vast spaces of the Kalahari sandvelt, with it's wild life rich plains, which were by then ready for their first soaking of summer rains. There was barely a blade of grass, the little shrubs scattered about where nothing but a brown cluster, nevertheless the wildebeest still found grass to graze and so did the Zebra. We thought we would finish the day off with a visit to Imbiza where we had seen the lionesses earlier.
As we arrived into the area, the sight of focused giraffe staring off in one direction gave the location of the cats. When we got to the lions, we discovered that another lioness and the most handsome black mained lion had joined the pride. I noticed the male's left foot was very badly injured with a fresh wound, which it constantly licked. He lay high on a termite mound and his females all around him. By now, the sun was subsiding and the last soft light had been and was very quickly disappearing. The magnificent colour of the sky started to form into its golden yellows and oranges. The dust kicked up by the head of elephants at the water hole, and some dust bathing, filtered the harsh rays from the sun, making visible the blood red setting sun. The sudden piece and tranquillity was all of a sudden broken when a herd of buffalo came stampeding into the open area. Like the flick of a switch, the predators took their positions behind whatever cover and mounds they could find. At this stage the herd of buffalo had no idea of what danger lay before them. Patiently the cats waited in ambush. It appeared that the thirst of the day and the smell of water ahead of them were what got the buffalo going at a steady pace towards the water hole. It all happened too quick, the lionesses where on the chase, but the herd kept a tight neat circle. They stopped and spun around and started to chase the lionesses as a stand off to the retreating lionesses. This seemed to go on for longer than it actually did, but by this time, the sky was filled with dust and loud noises of bellowing and cluttering hoofs. Somehow the buffalo got away, unharmed. It was not over, a smaller head of straddlers of about four cows and some young bulls came into the scene confused at the chaos. They ran straight into the pride, the chasing game started again and within forty yards of our landrover, three of the lioness came and hit a cow with a big sounding blow. One at the kneck throttling the animal, the second one at the side and the third at the read weighing it down to stop it from kicking and bucking. It was the most incredible immobilization I had ever seen, the buffalo cow did not move, but it still stood. She let out a loud bellow, which echoed afar, and like a tonne of bricks she hit the ground and they had her onto her side. In a split second her head was facing upwards whilst the dominant lioness still held tight at the throat. It took another few seconds and the beast lay still and lifeless, and by now the whole pride hung over the carcass. The sun had completely disappeared by now and the after colours of the sunset still glowed and lit up the sky. In our headlamps we watched the big cats grunt and growl as they ripped into the flesh of their kill in the most aggressive way.
The next morning, we called in first thing, and only to find a flock of vultures lingering in the trees and hooded vultures on the ground picking at the scattered bones. The huge mound of buffalo reduced to nothing more than just a skull, spine and a rib cage sticking out the ground. No words and no picture could ever paint that atmosphere of a struggle of survival, an experience, and most of all an introduction to the bitter harsh life of the laws of the
Beks Ndlovu (Experiences recorded in my Diary 1995)
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