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BOTSWANA OFFICE:
UNTAMED SAFARIS & EXPEDITIONS INTO AFRICA incorporating: SAFARI & GUIDE SERVICES (PTY) LTD THE BOTSWANA CONNECTION CHOBE TRAVEL SHOP P/Bag K39, Kasane, Botswana Tel: (267) 625 0259 / 625 1754 Fax: (267) 625 0259 E-mail: travel@botsnet.bw ZIMBABWE OFFICE UNTAMED AFRICA incorporating: BAOBAB SAFARIS CANOE SAFARIS JEDSON'S CAMP UNTAMED AFRICA PO Box 196 Victoria Falls Zimbabwe Tel/Fax: (+26 313) 44283 E-mail: untamed@telkomsa.net YOUR BOOKING AGENT: CHOBE TRAVEL SHOP P/Bag K39, Kasane, Botswana Shop 3, Audi Centre, Kasane, Botswana Tel: (267) 625 0259 / 625 1754 Fax: (267) 625 0259 E-mail: travel@botsnet.bw |
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Photo Gallery: Tracking Lions
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| Marc & Catherine Boulet come on safari with us rather frequently. They are very focussed (well Marc is anyway) and their safaris revolves around tracking and hopefully locating Black Rhino and Leopard. On their last trip, lions roaring in the early morning changed our focus for just one day. We located these lions after hours of challenging tracking. Unfortunately we came across them suddenly at close quarters and they immediately fled so Marc did not manage to photograph them. So that afternoon we set out once again to find them. When we eventually found them, they were sleeping in the riverbed with no cover between us and them and the wind blowing in the wrong direction. So we decided to carefully and quietly get around them into a more favourable position for an approach. Marc's photos tell the rest of the story... |
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First we saw them from a long distance away. They were asleep in the river bed, sprawled out without a worry in the world.
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So we silently crossed the riverbed to the opposite bank. From this point the wind was favourable but we could no longer see the lions below the riverbank. Also the ground was littered with dry and very crunchy leaves from a Sausage Tree (Kigelia africana). We began approaching the spot where I estimated the now invisible lions to be - unsuccessfully trying to be as silent as possible...
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Because of our proximity to the lions I used hand signals rather than talking. Suddenly I thought that I caught sight of a lion's tail - so I indicated for everyone to STOP.
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A quick look confirmed that the lions were exactly where I estimated, but the people behind me could not yet see them. So I indicated that I could see the lions.
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I pointed to show that the lions were immediately in front of us.
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Unfortunately the leaves crunching below our feet had woken the sleeping lions. In this picture, immediately to the right side of the tree, you see the lions peering up at us. In fact at that point the lions were only about 7 metres in front of us.
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As Marc zooms in on the lions you see that they are still very sleepy and possibly thinking that they have been woken by lunch walking into them.
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As the lions wake-up they become more alert. The lion on the left rises to sitting position. The young male on the right is now fully alert, realises that all is not as it should be and still unsure stands-up.
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While sleepy on the left is still trying to sift through his dreams, his brother has recognised that we are in fact not his next dinner and his sudden shift to aggression and threat is clearly indicated by the tensing in his jaw, his eyes narrowing slightly, his ears beginning to flatten and the unmistakable flash of his taill.
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After this sequence was captured, things happened too quickly for Marc to capture on film. After a moment's hesitation while the right lion assessed the situation, he decided discretion was the better part of valour and fled across the riverbed. Not inclined to disagree, his sleepy brother followed suit. The two lionesses who did not feature in these photos (except the first) woke-up and fled immediately.
If you would like to contact Marc & Catherine in order to find out their opinion of safaris with UNTAMED AFRICA you can contact them by e-mail at: MARC-BOULET@wanadoo.fr |