The chase that took us to the Lion

This is a short recollection about the morning drive we had in the Xakanaka area of Moremi Game Reserve on October the 13.th 2011. We searched for Painted Dogs and ended up with a beautiful male Lion.

We woke up before sunrise and ate a quick breakfast. Our guide confirms what I had heard during the night, sniffing Hyenas. They often come into camps to search for a easy snack during night. A snack in their world could consist of booths for instance so you must always get everything inside the tent or else you end up with your stuff torn apart.

The choice for the morning was easy. We went back to the area in which we had seen the Painted Wolves, aka Painted Dogs,s the night before. When we traversed one of the first waterways we started to notice that the Impala where skittish. A good sign that the Painted wolves could be in the vicinity. The hope was to see a hunt so we stopped there. It didn’t take long before we heard Hyenas called and that made the Impalas take off.

Still we hoped for Painted wolves and drove in the direction from where the Impalas came, but it turned out to be a dead end. We ended far out on one of the small “island” where we took a short stop. Here we watch an African Fish-Eagle making a catch that a juvenile tried to steal.

Pressing on

We continued our search and soon saw a promising sign.

Vultures.

Sadly another dead end.

We where now close to the air strip and here we began to see more vehicles. Probably at least five other vehicles.

We stop and had a chat with one and the rumor was that the Painted wolves where closeby. We heard warning calls from a Baboon and located it to see which direction it was looking. I could see that this male Baboon was seriously injured when it climbed down the tree. It might be another Baboon that had caused the injury or a predator. Strangely this was the only Baboon we saw. Where were the rest of the Baboon troop?

Tau, they said

We gave up the chase and drove towards the airstrip where we meet a vehicle that give us a tip about a Tau. I guessed this must mean Lion, probably a male. And surely I was correct.

We stayed with this magnificent Lion for two sessions. The first stop was a short one as we went back after a quick snack. The second time we stayed much longer together with this magnificent animal.

Just looking at the pictures bring me back to the day and the Painted wolf chase that ended with this magnificent Lion.

You can see more photos from my stay in Moremi by following the link below.

Moremi Game Reserve Photo Album 2011