Jo Ho Ho!!! Just back in time for Christmas and I’ve got my daughters with me for the next 5 weeks on their long summer holiday.
Actually I arrived back on Monday after many hours of driving through the night, but it still gave me time to get out in the afternoon and find the dogs at Nduna dam where Mark’s had them for the last few days. They soon dashed off to kill a female impala. (All exciting stuff for my girls.)
Then just as we were leaving Nduna dam at dusk some elephants came in to drink. It was Mandlovu and her family. They are all doing so well and Chipfongwe is becoming quite the boy! Also Mandlovu’s oldest daughter has a tiny tiny calf. I haven’t seen Mandlovu’s herd for a good 4 months, so what a big home welcoming!
We started back on our night shift last night following the Nyari pride. They were in the hills when we picked them up and seemed like they had plans on spending the night there. But soon before midnight they started heading east. We still didn’t have site of them in the hills as we followed by signal alone with no access up there.
Then suddenly we heard the commotion and the bellows. They’d caught a buffalo bull but how were we going to get in there. They were now in the ravines around the Nyamasikana River.
When I did eventually get sight of them through a small opening in the bush, I saw the 2 lionesses standing at the rear end of a buffalo bull that was already down.
The limited visibility forced me to take 4X4 driving to a different level. Eventually we found an opening and managed to get Mark in there too with the lights just in time to see Manyari tackling the bull by the muzzle. She was trying to suffocate the bull by closing its muzzle. This is usually easier than the neck that is so thick and more dangerous. But she wasn’t getting her mouth over the whole muzzle and the bull’s lower jaw was still free. This meant it could still breathe.
Manyari continued to chew and clamp down on its nose, the buffalo of course bellowing in pain.
For about half an hour Manyari clamped down on its nose until it eventually died. I’m not sure why it eventually died, as I don’t see how she was actually able to suffocate it.
It was another of those really gruesome sights, but again brings back reality to what life is all about out here.
And getting a first hand lesson on this all were my daughters. Lindy 12 and Penny 10. They found it tough to watch and although they said they couldn’t watch, they still did.
I know some people don’t want their children to see these things in films or books, but I believe it gives them a much more balanced outlook on life, especially when they’re seeing it for real. Those docile kitties, lions, that spend most of their time lying around just looking cute, suddenly take on a new meaning when seen in action like this.
The action didn’t last and the lionesses spent the rest of the night resting up and they were really well fed anyway.
And where are the boys? Missing out on the big one! No doubt they’ll rock up sometime in the next couple of days. Otherwise these girls could be feeding on this kill for the next 4 or 5 days.
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