Before I went to Africa I had some preconceived ideas of how Lions would behave . I had to dismiss all those ideas.
I had expected a constant life and death tension as species interacted or circled each other warily but instead I was treated
to a relaxed and respectful symbiosis across nearly all species ( except for hippos - they were just cranky troublemakers ..)
Food was only sourced as it was needed rather than as a sport.
This pride of lions in the Chobe were as chilled and loving with each as I had previously observed the elephants to be.
The young male rubbing his scent on the wet leaves and enjoying the tickle they gave him after a night of stormy rains was
totally delightful to watch. There's a strange disconnect between watching a breed of animal being so adorable and cute like pussy cats
but your conscious brain understanding they could, in an instant, slice you open like a juicy giraffe.
One late afternoon approaching dusk we came across a pride who had come to the riverbank for a cooling drink. We missed the drink
but enjoyed their relaxed aftermath.
The kids were revived and one little cub in particular delighted in making trouble with everyone.
He wandered between groups waiting to pounce , pull tails or bite ears.
The lionesses tolerated his antics until one tail slap across the eyes was too much for a hot tired Mama.
She snarled at him, made him check himself and then with continued charm he shmoozed himself all over her
and all was forgiven.
Sony Alpha 1 / 300mm F 2.8 with and without x2 extender.
Giraffe for breakfast, lunch , dinner . After a wet night in a bleak forest this pride was in no rush to finish their delicious meal. I loved how the young male kept going back to the juicy spare ribs - really, who doesnt love a spare rib!
The rest of the pride was scattered amongst the trees in a total food coma.
On the dusk of our last afternoon in the Chobe we had just settled back onto the Riverboat ready for afternoon drinkies, when a commotion was seen far across the river. Although the quality of these images is lacking somewhat, the story they tell outweighs the challenges of a distant subject in failing light. We were probably a good 800m away from the other side of the river - the first image is uncropped ( 300m ) - I just grabbed the camera and started shooting unsure of how long the spectacle would go on for and not wanting to waste time by finding my 600m extender.
The Lions had stalked a Buffalo, circled him and commenced a cohesive yet stunningly casual attack on him. They bit into his legs and onto his neck trying to cut his spinal cord and cripple him. There was no noise to be heard but you could see the distress the buffalo was in. His friends came to try and save him however were warned off by a single lioness who then stood guard to ensure they didnt return. Their indecision and wavering back and forth was very sad to watch. When the buffalo was wrestled to the ground I decided I didnt want to try to capture the end result, put down my camera and turned my back on the scene.
However this wasn't the end. Somehow the buffalo whilst on his back, had landed a lucky kick , broken free and jumped into the water for refuge.. The water that was full of crocs and hippos - yet another certain death.. We waited for the crocs to circle , and we waited... and waited.
The lions waited also and according to the time stamp on my photos they waited for almost 20 mins for him to get out of the water. Eventually they admitted defeat and did a walk of shame up through the dunes, ignoring a herd of elephants and past the gathered safari vehicles.
And what of our Brave little Buffalo? Well the crocs never came and he climbed out the water with just a few shreds of skin hanging but no life threatening injuries we could see, collected himself and wobbled over to rejoin his herd.
It's now that I understand what having a 'Hide like a Buffalo' means. :-)
Sony A1 / 300/600mm
