The Lions Share

When we came across this lion kill the warthog was already dead with two lionesses and a small cub tucking
into this tasty meal, well tasty for them! We didn't actually see the kill this time, but we settled down to watch, one of the best things about being on safari is to quietly watch the behaviour of the wildlife in their natural habitat as they go about their normal activities. After only five minutes we heard a low roar, it didn't sound too far away. The lionesses had also clearly heard it because they reluctantly moved a short distance away from the kill and settled into the long grass to wait, while the large male lion sauntered in to take what he believed was due to him. It was absolutely fascinating to watch as this scene unfolded.

Everyone knows that the male lions get fed first, that's why we have the saying 'the lions share' but when you are watching, first hand and up close, you can actually feel the frustration of the hungry lioness. When the females moved aside, they didn't go far and although they looked very nonchalant about the whole thing they were keeping a keen eye on things. The cub fared a little better as the lion allowed him to join in and they fed together for a while.

After a short time the whole thing got too much for one of the lionesses, maybe she was still young and hadn't quite accepted the correct etiquette in these matters. Hoping not to be seen she used the cover of the long grass, to quietly and slowly move in. The lion continued eating and all was relatively peaceful, that was until the lioness got just a little too close. He turned on her in an instant, using his huge paw and growled a warning in no uncertain terms, she quite wisely retreated. After five minutes she tried again, using the same tactics, but with the same result. This time she got the message and stayed put until the lion had his fill.

Most times on safari when you come across lions they are generally sleeping, they spend a lot of time during the day sleeping in the shade, this gives a false impression that they can be pretty docile, however when food is involved there is no mistaking there aggressive behaviour.

Elephants of Mount Elgon

I haven't posted for a while as I have been organising an exhibition of my wildlife photos, but I'm back with a story of how aggressive some elephants can be.

Elephants are the largest of all the animals so they don't have any natural predators, except man of course, who kill them for the ivory, which fortunately is now banned. That's not to say the trade has completely died out but it is rare now and the rangers are always on the lookout for poachers.

Most of the time, while on safari, elephants seem like very placid and quite sedentary animals as they slowly make their way across the rolling plains of the Mara, eating the grass and leaves off the trees as they go. You will notice though if you're ever on safari that the guides don't get too close. There is no real reason to either, they are so big and create such a presence that you can watch them and photograph them at a reasonable distance. The elephants themselves are very tolerant of the tourists in their jeeps, so long as their space is not invaded and they are not threatened in anyway. If you do accidentally get too close they trumpet a warning in your direction and this is usually enough. You will often see an elephant walking down the tracks that the vehicles use, if you happen to be driving along the same track as an elephant you can be sure that it will be you that has to get off the road and give the elephant a wide birth.

This year we spent a few days at Mount Elgon national reserve, the terrain is very different there when compared with the Mara. There are large forested areas and the elephants like all the other animals that live there have adapted to their environment, they are smaller than the plains elephants and redder in colour. They are also more aggressive if disturbed.

While driving through the forest on one of the days we came upon two female elephants with two calves, one of the calves was just a baby. They were just crossing the road, we immediately stopped but kept the engine running, there was a brief standoff which is when I managed to get this photo. You can see from the photo that the two females were shielding the calves from view. Once they had nudged the young ones into the safety of the bushes, they faced towards us and went into a full charge, trunk raised, ears flapping, running straight at us. I have to admit I was very frightened, I'd say a lot more than the elephants were. The driver immediately put the jeep into reverse and we sped off backwards as fast as we could. They only stopped charging when they felt we were no longer close enough to the calves to be a threat. It was a very scary encounter, not one that I would want to experience again, there have been incidents where elephants have overturned jeeps, we were fortunate.

The whole experience left me shaken and with a greater respect for elephants.