The Best of Year One: #3

Seeing Lions

I will never forget what it was like to see a lion. I was on safari driving slowly along when one of the other volunteers with me told the guide she thought she had seen something in a clump of bushes that we had just driven by. Our guide reversed the truck and sure enough, there were two female lions in the bushes that had just killed a waterbuck.

We parked the truck within about 15 feet of the lion and the guide whispered for us not to make any sudden movements or to talk too loudly. The lion seemed to be staring right at us and, while I never felt unsafe, it was unsettling. He lions had stuffed themselves and were laying under the brush and breathing heavily. A lion only eats about every four days and so when they do get a kills they will gorge themselves. Their stomachs can expand so much that it actually squeezes their lungs and they can’t take a full breath.

We drove along and planned to check on them later in the afternoon. Several hours later we returned and found them eating the waterbuck. It was quite disgusting and fascinating at the same time. We sat and watched them slowly tear the carcass apart. The lions had their fill again and went to go lie down.

No sooner had someone made a joke about them being too fat to move than they quickly stood up and came walking right by our truck. A hyena had come into view and was 300-400 yards away. I had no idea how the lions ever saw the hyena, we could barely spot him but they quickly gave chase. One of the lions walked by so closely that I felt like I could have reached out and touched it.

We headed back to camp for the night and planned to track them in the morning. At night sitting around the camp fire we could hear the lions calling to each other. It was not a loud roar but rather this low grunting noise that can carry for several kilometers.

The next morning we found two male lions on the kill and they were eating what was left of the waterbuck, which was not a whole lot. Seeing the lions completely devour a waterbuck was an unbelievable experience. We got to sit within feet of them while they ate, napped, and walked around. It is an experience I hope I get to repeat but will never forget.

The Best of Year One: #4

Seeing Elephants

Okay, so I have seen an elephant before but it was in a zoo so it shouldn’t count. The Greenville Zoo had an elephant named Joy and I remember going to see her on a field trip. You could smell her enclosure from about a hundred yards away and all she did was stand around. I don’t remember if I felt bad for her but I do remember thinking that elephants didn’t really do anything.

Seeing elephants in the wild was a rush. I am fascinated by them and could watch them for hours and not get bored.

They are incredibly intelligent and can live as long as a human being. Elephants also are either right or left “handed.” You can tell by looking at their tusks. The tusk on the elephant’s dominant side will be more worn down than the other.

I feel very fortunate to have seen them in the wild, and in the future I will be hard pressed to visit any zoos.

The Best of Year One: #5

Petting a Cheetah

Yes, you read that correctly. I petted a real, live cheetah. The Mokolodi Game Reserve near Gaborone has two male cheetahs that were rescued from the wild after their mother was killed. They were too young to care for themselves and so they have stayed at the game reserve since.

A guide drove us down to the cheetah enclosure. It is sad to see animals caged up now, but they would have never made it in the wild. We walked around for a while, looking for them. We finally found one curled up sleeping under a tree. I could walk right up to it and pet its head.

I was surprised when the cheetah started purring, just like a house cat. We squatted and stroked his head and he purred and stretched and acted just like a big cat. the whole experience was a little surreal. It just didn't seem like the cheetah should be so calm and not care about a bunch of people petting him. It was a great experience and I doubt I will be that close to a big cat for a while.