out. I drove that wreck of Owen's green cruiser all day It is like
going around with a set of pots in the back of the car... the rattling
noise is unbelievable....but it was worth, definitely worth.
We could not find much in the morning other that 3 male lions,
bushbuck ones, walking the other side of the ruaha river and a little
leopard in the shade of a big tree and it moved off soon.
The afternoon was much better, we got kipunji pride at w7. All of them
together with the 5 cubs. We committed to stay there all day because
they looked hungry and they were in a very good position.
The lions were sleeping but in a very open area and the cubs were
quite restless, walking from one group to the other. We were also
dozing when a young bull ellie climbed up the bank just behind the
cats... it was havoc in a second with the bull charging the lions
straight towards us. The lions scatered everywhere with the elephants
on hot pursuit of a female and her cubs. Eventually he went his own
way and the lions went back to were they were before. But some time
later it all happened again , this time with a small breeding herd.
Lions scattered again, the cubs visibly distress, crying out their
fear. Also these llies went so lions could start dozing again.
Later in the afternoon as the sun was getting lower the moved onto the
bank waiting fot something to come to drink, two females went in the
river bed.
We decided to move the other side and while we were crossing the river
we saw a big herd of buffs coming towards the water that lions were
guarding.
We moved in a position where we could see the lions and the buffs
approaching. It was so beautiful, th atmosphere so rich in expectations.
The buffaloes came closer and closer, the lions waiting. When they
where withing 20 mtrs one liones chased the buffs but she chased the
head of the herd so they reacted and chased her up the bank.
One of the lioness in the riverbed stood up and walke quite
nonchalantly in front of the approaching herd before retreating to the
safety of the bank.
The buffs were not happy and swarmed up after the cats. This time were
the lions to chase them back and one lioness even manged to grab a
buffalo from the back but she could not stop it and it went back in
the herd quite unarmed.
The same scene happened again few second later, buffs up the bank-
lions running-lions reacting-buffs running down the bank-lions
grabbing a buff-buff escaping in the herd again.
Eventually all the buffs went up and the lion gave up the fight.
Maaaaannnnn that is what we are here for... emotions.., it was just
insane, again pure awsomness... the battle went on and on and buffs
were obviously the winners.
Happyness!
Later we followed the lions and as it came dark, on the way back we
saw them crossing the open area and to our surprise we spotted a very
skinny male. He was withing 20 mtrs from the pride walking in the
open. He was hiding, motionless, crouching as low as possible not to
be seen, there was no bushes in between the hiding cat and the walking
one, no mound where to hide... nothing but short grass. . All the
lions passed in front of him, one by one and surprisingly nobody saw
him. Definitely relieved the young male moved off, we wished him good
luck, in that conditions he definitely needs that.
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