Posted 07 April 2010, for the period 15 – 31 March 2010
The best sightings we have had over the past two weeks are undoubtedly all the lion sightings. And the best of these was the one right in front of the lodge……
We were heading out on our morning drive in search of lions as a few of our guests had not seen any yet. We were out of the camp for a mere minute, and there they were. We first saw a single lioness in the early morning light. She appeared out of the shadows and was on the trot – closely pursued by a big male. The rest of the pride was not too far behind (namely the Styx lionesses and the two Mapogo brothers, well known to us in this area).
It appeared as if one or some of the lionesses were in oestrous, and therefore ready to mate. This would be why the brothers were interested in them, as we normally see these two different groups of lions apart from one another.
We watched while one of the males tried to mate with one of the Styx pride females. This was clearly much to her disgust, as she and one of her pride attacked the male and sent him into retreat. These males may be a threat to the Styx prides sub-adult members as they were sired by a different lion. So the lionesses were a bit “on edge”, and were clearly concerned about the cubs’ safety.
The lions all stayed on the open area in front of the lodge where we first found them for the remainder of the day. From here our guests could keep an eye on them from the pool deck. They simply lay in the shade and came down for water from time to time to ease the thirst brought upon them by the heat of the day.
That afternoon we went straight out to them again, although they were all sleeping soundly. We returned to them when it got cooler with nightfall and they started moving. We watched as they moved through the darkness, and into the night on the hunt – hoping to find their next meal. They were moving so quietly you could have heard a pin drop.
After following them for a good twenty minutes or so it was time to leave them and head back to the lodge for dinner and drinks….
Who knows what the next few weeks hold!
We hope to see you soon.
Warm regards from the team at Arathusa Safari Lodge.
