AFRICA RAW

If there is anything everyone going on Safari hopes to see it’s a lion kill.

But be warned. If there’s one experience in life that overwhelms the senses it is a lion kill. It’s not a sight for the squeamish. It’s brutal, it’s vicious and it’s bloody. But it is the epitome of Africa. Africa raw

Lions, like all cats, spend most of their days laying around sleeping. Come late afternoon they start to stir and then wander off on the prowl looking for something to eat. Seeing a pride of lions on the hunt is special in itself. Their ambling walk is casual. But don’t be deceived. They are totally alert and fully aware of all the nuisances of the bush and not distracted by the clucking ground squirrels or the barking baboons or the coughing warnings of impalas. When lions are on the move the bush telegraph comes alive and everything knows they are around.

Darkness is their friend. This is when they become invisible. Superb night vision identifies the target. Every animal instinctively knows its place and the role it has to play. There is the ambusher that quietly moves into position. Then the stalkers take up their positions and slowly close the gap.

The hunted, know they are being hunted. Ears tuned to hear even the faintest sound twitch, focus, re-focus. Noses sniff the air hoping for a whiff of scent that will identify where the hunter is. Feet nervously twitch like the feet of athletes at the start of a race. Ready to sing into action as soon as something happens.

The big prize for lions is a buffalo. A buffalo is meat, real good tasty meat that will feed even a big pride for two or three days. But buffalos don’t go down easy. They defend in numbers. Knife sharp horns facing outwards, almost daring the lions to go for it.

This is the real game of Africa. A fight to the death. This is the wild Africa you want to see.

When it’s over. It’s not over. It’s just the start.

Lion behaviour at a kill is vicious. There are no tame kitties here. It’s every wild cat for himself, snarling and clawing and fighting for the best pieces. Snoozers are losers. They either get in there, or they get left out. Lions are not losers, so they get in there. And it’s vicious.

The real assault on the senses comes after a few days. The prime rib is all eaten. What’s left is just a snack. A decomposing snack that smells and attracts flies and all the other scavengers looking for a freebie. Hyenas will come and test the lions. They hate each other and it’s a game of numbers. They that have the numbers wins the game.

While the lions and hyenas are distracted the jackals dart in and steal anything they can get a mouthful of. Then they are out of there. Actually they are wimps. Any aggressive movement or noise and they are off, tails between their legs. But they don’t go far. They hand around exploiting every free moment to score a meal.

Jackals are followed by the vultures. Their ability to spot a kill from thousands of meters up in a vortex of upward rising air is incredible. They gather and glide down and take up positions in nearby trees where they have a grandstand view of what’s going on. Then when opportunity arises they glide down and another fierce free for all fight for the prime leftovers ensues.

This is Africa. Where death is just part of the cycle of life.

If you are squeamish, or a vegan anti anything red with blood this is not for you. Trust me, when you see a lion covered in thousands of flies munching on the putrid stinking entrails of a two days old rotting buffalo and the green partially digested last meal starts to ooze out it is an overwhelming assault on the senses. Breakfast quickly gets regurgitated. But be careful, if you spray over the dashboard of your car from Avis you will live with the smell for the remainder of your days on safari and it’s hard to convince them it wasn’t you who dirtied the vehicle when you hand it back.