I drove out of camp at dawn slap bang into the Nduna pride strolling down the road.
These guys have been on a big walk-about and now seem to rule most of Malilangwe. Their only opposition is the Banyini pride, but they seem to be spending most of their time next door on Hippo Valley.
The lions continued south along the road from camp through the hills. As they popped over the first rise, baboons scattered and took refuge in trees. They were safe, but only if they stayed there.
But when the lions walked under a tree with some youngsters in it, the little guys lost their nerve and bailed. They had no chance and were instantly in the jaws of 2 lions, which rushed off to feed on their own before having to compete with the rest of the pride.
It was quite a disturbing sight to see this little baboon dangling from the jaws of this big cat AND still alive screaming. But luckily it was killed pretty quickly.
The 2 baboons didn’t provide much sustenance for the pride.
The kept moving around the hills hoping to get other baboons to lose it, but they were now truly entrenched up in their trees.
Eventually the lions headed on south and out of the hills. But this lower lying country in some areas where it’s been heavily grazed, is covered in the devil thorn Tribulus. These tough thorns wreck havoc with the lion’s paws and in some areas play an important role in deterring lions.
I would have thought though that lions would have come to recognise not only these areas but also possibly the plants that are responsible. But there was none of that. In the one specific area they walked through today, they would have been fine if they’d moved 1m (3ft) to either side of where they did walk, but no chance of that.
Of course they are just LIONS!
Recent Comments