Identifying the LionsAfter a week of no lions, I have finally seen them!
After a long hard drive to Samburu, I settled down to begin my work. It rained quite a bit during the first day and a half. I went out first thing on Saturday morning to look for lions, but found none. I spent days out driving all over the reserves, including a small epic adventure in Buffalo Springs on roads that had not been traveled for months. But no lions. I did hear them at night on one occasion and also saw tracks on a few days. But still no lions!
During this week, I had been going out alone as my assistant Paul had not yet started working. The roads were still in pretty bad shape because of the rains, so I kept my eyes on the road and I probably drove past the lions many times! I was fortunate to see a cheetah hunting impala on one occasion with a striped hyena close by. I also got a see an hour old dik dik. My car was most likely the first car that the dik dik had seen and he bounded towards it, only to be called back by its mother. Although there were no elephants over the first few days, apart from an injured bull elephant, they are now back in their hundreds. But still no lions?!!
On the 25th of January, I drove to “Cat Corridor”; a valley where most of the cats meander through when they are moving from the core of the reserve to the boundary and surrounding community lands. I have seen lion and cheetah often in this area. There is one rocky road that goes between the hills and I took this road after seeing some fresh lion tracks. It is a beautiful part of the reserve, totally isolated and secluded where very few people go to. However the road falls apart and I was about to turn around when I saw and heard the duet of two red and yellow barbets. These birds are one of my favourites and are stunning to watch and listen to. I stopped the car and watched them for a while. As I glanced around the area, I suddenly saw 3 heads watching me. Lions! I was so excited. I turned around quickly and stopped at a good spot where I could see them better. They were on the other side of a ridge and it was not possible to get any closer. There were 3 females and I identified one of them immediately as Uni. She is a big female and one of the older ones. The lions appeared to be a bit nervous and it was apparent that they hadn’t seen a car in a while. They were sleeping near a small clump of bush and even when the sun came out, they stayed there in the sun.
I headed back to camp (to stock up on food!), but returned soon after to see if they had moved. Just as I got to the ridge, Uni stood up and walked to a nearby lugga (sand river). The second female, who was not yet identified, followed her soon after. The third female eventually got out of the sun and went and joined them. All 3 females were deep in a thick green bush near the lugga and I could barely see anything. I left them again and returned at 3 pm. I was very keen to identify the other 2 females and was hoping that one would be Nashipai (aka Pixie). Its always a bit nerve wracking when I don’t see lions for a long time, as anything could happen to them. Pixie being my favourite always causes me a bit of anxiety and I am always keen to find her.
The lions hadn’t moved when I returned. They had rolled over in the lugga and appeared to be very content there. I waited and waited for any movement and kept myself busy watching barbets and go-away birds in the nearby trees. Finally at 5:30 pm, Uni stood up and walked into the open grass. The sun had gone behind the hill. Soon after the other females joined her in the open, greeting and nuzzling her. Lions are very social animals and it was lovely to witness this bond between them. I eventually identified the second female as Nabo and looked carefully at the third one for Pixie’s famous notch in her right ear. Yes – there it was! I had a big grin on my face as I left the lions in the secluded valley. It was great to see them again (thanks to the barbets!) and to see them in good condition, but most of all, to see Pixie. I am really looking forward to seeing more of them in the next few weeks.
