Wednesday 04 September 2013 This day’s events deserved their own blog entry, so head on over to “Lions attack” to read the action-packed account. Still no lions, and everyone was anxious to find the big cats. We worked our way east and enjoyed the crisp morning air in the company of giraffe, wildebeest, kudu, nyala and three old buffalo bulls. Around mid-drive, the lions were located. Excitement mounted as we realised that they were very close to the three buffalo bulls we had seen earlier. The wind was blowing favourably, and when the tawny cats started getting mobile we knew that action was around the corner. Great scenes followed as the pride went through the ritual of greeting and preparing for their hunt. We followed them through the bush hoping that our hunch had been right. Sure enough, the five cats were heading straight in the direction of the buffalo. We watched as they tested the scent in the air, all the while moving closer to the target. Finally the moment of truth arrived. The cats spotted the buffalo and immediately slunk into low crouch positions. A lioness stalking around the vehicle to reposition herself was spotted by tree squirrels. The squirrels immediately put up a racket that alerted the buffalo. With heads held high, the bovines scanned the area for danger. Realising that their chance might be lost, the cats went into action. Thundering hooves and paws filled the air as the lions flung themselves at the buffalo. Soon one of the bulls was isolated with the lions just staying out of the way of his horns. Dust and noise filled the air. The buffalo managed to deter the lions, all the while angling towards salvation in the form of his waiting ‘brothers in arms’. As the bull rejoined the other two, blood dripping from his flanks where claws had torn its skin, we knew the battle was over. The balance of power had swung, as the two waiting buffalo were now primed and ready for action. Heads held low with horns outward, they waited for the attack. The final onslaught lacked the element of surprise, and we watched as the lions half-heartedly attempted to break through the barrier of horns. The fight had been lost, and when the buffalo set off in flight it didn’t take long for the lions to abandon the pursuit as the risk had become too big for the possible reward. Settling down for the day, the lions bonded. We headed over to an open area a safe distance from the action for some sweet tea, and to fully digest what we had just experienced. Later in the evening, and after our drinks break, we went looking for the hungry Styx pride as we knew that their failure from the morning would not deter them from mounting another onslaught on the herbivores of the Sabi Sand. They had disappeared earlier in the day, and we had some work to do in relocating them. With confidence in our great tracking team, we set off to try. Amazingly skilled work from our trackers soon had us coming around a bend to find the pride – battle ready and on the move. When the lions moved off the road into the bush, we knew that we were about to experience a dose of adrenalin once more, as we were close to a game filled open area. Watching the cats slink through the brush, it was evident that they were strategically positioning a ring of lions around the open area. We quickly moved around to position ourselves a safe distance from an unsuspecting herd of wildebeest and impala. Soon enough, a young lioness burst out of the bush into the clearing, chasing the sprinting wildebeest straight in the direction of her waiting compatriots. Moving at speeds of 65 km per hour, the chase moved quicker than the vehicle and we had to switch off to listen if the hunt had been successful. The only sound to be heard was the ruckus a rapidly disappearing herd of wildebeest was making as they bombed through the bush. All went dead quite, and we waited for the first soft contact call, calling the pride together. They had missed their chance, but were already rallying – rubbing up against one another and reaffirming the bonds that make this pride such a success. We left as the pride departed from the area in search of new opportunities. Guest Josh Stein, author of the video clip, had this to say about their experience: “The day started out with a routine morning drive (only our 2nd game drive during our time on safari), but by the end of the day, truly turned out to be one to remember. Early on, it was a pretty normal, nice quiet drive during a beautiful morning sunrise with a glimpse here or there of a variety of wildlife (giraffe, nyala, three big old buffalo, etc). Then, after about an hour into our drive we came upon a pride of four big lionesses. Our vehicle, as well as two others, decided to follow the lionesses as they rose and began to walk deeper into the bush. We soon ran into a male lion, who was the brother of the pride. After about 20 minutes, the lions started to push onward deeper into the bush. Our guide and tracker took notice that they were walking in the same general direction to where we first spotted the three buffalo from earlier, and had a sneaking suspicion that they were on the hunt for those very buffalo. So, our guide decided to head back to the location of the buffalo sighting to see if we could cut the lions off and catch any action. Before we knew it, just as the guide and tracker predicted, the lions appeared! As soon as the buffalo entered the lions’ line of sight, the lions immediately went into predator mode. It was truly amazing to see these animals, that once appeared to be big soft, gentle cats turn into vicious, dangerous animals with a one track mind – stopping at nothing to catch and kill their prey. Our vehicle was perfectly positioned about 30 yards to the side to see the lions creep towards the unsuspecting buffalo. All of a sudden, one of the lionesses approached our vehicle and came right around on my side of the car literally six inches from me! I became pretty nervous, but I quickly realised that the lioness was not interested in us humans, but rather was using our vehicle as a shield to hide herself as she quickly sprung into action. Next thing you know, all of the lions quickly ran to attack the buffalo and the three 800lb buffalo started charging right towards our vehicle!!! The lions continued their pursuit and began to team up attacking the buffalo one-by-one! A truly exhilarating, terrifying, exciting, unforgettable experience!!” arathusa.co.za/lions-attack/
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 14:12:26 +0000
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