He was 30 cm away from my head…
On the 6th of February, I was fortunate to have found some of the main lions in the Koitogor Pride. I was intrigued by the interactions between Pixie and her mate Baasi, and Uni and her mate, the maneless Supukon. There was a lot of pushing and shoving going on as Pixie seemed more interested in Supukon and less so in Baasi. Baasi in the end got left behind, whilst Pixie tried to mate with Supukon for most of the day.
Towards the end of the day, Baasi awakened and made his way to the other 3 lions. He saw them from far and sat down watching them intently. Uni walked towards him, followed closely by Supukon and Pixie. The next few actions happened so quickly, within the space of 10 seconds…
Supukon did not appear to be too impressed with Uni being so close to Baasi, and actually went towards him and Baasi also took a few quick steps towards Supukon. They both clashed and Baasi backed into my car. I was parked about 30 metres away from both of them. Baasi then turned around and decided to follow Pixie who had left the area. I was parked in a small depression and there was a bush right next to me. Baasi in pursuit of Pixie, walked right past me – between the car and the bush. He was about 30 cms away from my head! It all happened so quickly and I didn’t move a muscle as he walked by. He did not look at me and instead was more intent on getting to Pixie.
I have never been so close to a lion before and being in a small car and in the depression, I got incredibly close to Baasi. The sheer size of him is what I remember the most. Paul, who was sitting next to me, said “you should have got a hair sample” as soon as we recovered from the close encounter!
Such encounters remind me to be even more observant and careful whilst out in the field with lions and other wildlife. Things can happen so quickly and before you know it the whole situation can change.
I consider myself to be so lucky to work and live in such a beautiful area but must remember that this is lion country and I am just a guest in these wild lands.