I recently returned from my second once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Okavango and Linyanti wilderness of northwest Botswana. This dairy includes the some of the photographic results of that trip. I offer it as a brief respite from the insanity of the day, whatever that may mean to you, and as a reminder that we share this planet with some amazing creatures.
The Okavango
The Okavango Delta is a huge inland delta formed by a river system that starts in the highlands of Angola and ends in the desert of northwest Botswana. Rains that fall in Angola during the summer wet season flood the delta during the dry winter season and create an Eden for wildlife.
In this diary I am going to focus on that great oxymoron, the social cat; Pantera leo, the lion.
A small pride drinks at a pan early in the morning. There was one additional lioness in this pride.
Panthera leo evolved in Africa about a million years ago and spread as far as North America before going extinct in much of that extended range by 10,000 years ago. There is a small isolated population remaining in India and lion numbers are currently decreasing alarmingly in Africa.
On the road. Our guides mentioned that lions readily use human roads in the bush which has affected their policy on creating new roads to discoveries such as wild dog dens. They will not create straight roads for the lions to follow to vulnerable prey.
Looks fierce but this is merely a yawn.
Out guides called this individual possibly the best looking male lion in Botswana. He is fortunate to have little competition in his territory so he has not been scarred up my battles with other male lions.
He wants to grow up to be just like dad. All three cubs in this pride are males. Male lions are eventually ejected from the pride when they mature. Females will stay with their mothers/aunts.
Mama and the boys. These cats laid down on the dirt airstrip used to access the camp. We got a call from another guide that there were a couple of leopards nearby having a tiff. The lions must have heard the other cats because they suddently took off in that direction. When we got there we found that one leopard had taken off and the other was up a tree with the big male lion looking up at her. Soon the lions moved on and we waited to photograph the leopard when she came down.
Leopard (Panthera pardis)
This cub is from another small pride we photographed at a different location. He had some personality.
but became bored with the paparazzi.
The next day we found the two males from this pride on territorial patrol. Lions can include one, two or sometimes more adult males that all mate with the females in the pride. Two or males in this situation are called a coalition.
One of the males was limping quite badly and lagging behind. We were photographing the one in the lead as he waited on a pan by a waterhole when he began to roar, calling to his slower friend. The sound was indescrible, literally vibrating my viscera like the bass at a Tool concert. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. It really gets to you in an ancient hominid portion of your brain. I have photographed large sharks and they are impressive but you don't FEEL them like you do a lion. Our species have shared space for as long as we have existed and your body remembers.
The Roar
Lions are truly the apex predator (other than homo sapiens) and they are utterly casual in their actions. They seem to know that nothing can threaten them. (of course that isn't entirely true, hyenas or leopards will kill a lion cub given the chance but an adult lion has little to fear)
On another day we came across this solo, young male. He probably has not been on his own for long. Quite the face huh?
I amn going to end this diary here so I can post before it is too late. I hope you have enjoyed this little visit with the lions of Botswana. Feel free to treat this as a community photo diary and please be good humans.
If you have any complaint I refer you to the Complaint Department's Friday Night Stand In....
Aloha