Fun & games

On a cloudy morning in February one family I was driving had still not seen lions, after spending three nights at the lodge. This creature is usually number one or two on most people's lists and no African safari feels complete without making their acquaintance. In most cases though, they are lazy buggers laying in the shade of a bush, an ear and half an eye visible through the thicket, if lucky. This was not going to be an ordinary morning however...

As we approached the site where one of the prides had been found we were told on the radio that they were now up and moving about and we made our way down towards the river, as they seemed to slowly be heading in that direction. Just watching them walking and drinking is a privilege and the guests were stoked, and so was I, as we were not really expecting much activity at all.

The water seemed to be revitalizing the juveniles however and they figured it to be an excellent opportunity to practise their stalking techniques, on their mothers and aunts.

Since the adults weren't up for these boisterous fun and games though, the siblings and cousins quickly turned on each other instead.

Soon we had oversized kittens chasing around on all sides of the vehicle, kicking up dust and enjoying the relative relief from the heat that this morning offered.

The appearance of a thirsty giraffe interrupted the activity and the young lions decided to take him on. Normally giraffes are very weary of lions, but youngsters around a year old don't really pose any sort of threat. He was more worried about the adults resting under a tree a bit away from the river. The boldness of their chosen prey probably surprised them a bit...

For a few seconds they just stared at him before running towards him. Like any animal, the sight of 6-7 lions running towards him, sent him scurrying for safety.

The lionesses watched their offspring’s latest game with no apparent interest to join in and after a while the large giraffe bull seemed to realize that there were no adults involved in the hunt and calmed down. Restoring his dignity, he slowly went down towards the river again and the youngsters finally found the warmth of the morning tiring as the clouds slowly scattered.

 

/A