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King of the Jungle

Hi, I am the King of the Jungle. But you can call me Mr. Lion. I will now take you on a journey of discovery that you could only dream of here in the Kruger National Park.

My pride consists of three lionesses, eight cubs and two strutting young males, who believe that everything belongs to them and that the world owes them and not the other way round. In time they will challenge me for the top spot in the pack and then we will see how tough they really are.

My territory is the bush between Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie. Here I rule and you will obey my orders if you want to survive your journey with me. Listen very carefully to what I have to say and do what I tell you to do. I do not know how well honed your bush craft and hunting skills are, but I can assure you, I have had more than my share to know exactly what I am talking about. We will rest during day time and set out on our hunting trips during night time. On occasion I will take you on a day trip through the bush to allow you to familiarise yourself with the territory. Stay close, tread lightly and keep your eyes wide open.

You will notice that while we go out to hunt, one lioness will stay behind with the young cubs, to protect them from other predators and scavengers as it is too dangerous to take them on a hunting trip with us. So go lie down now and rest, for tonight is going to be a very long night and I do not want you to fall asleep or fall behind. There will be no time to turn back to search for you and it will mean the end of a very short journey for you.

Hey lazy bones, wake up, you should do something about that snoring of yours, seems that you were trying to cut down all the trees around us.

The word has come down the bush telegraph that there is a herd of Impala’s close by, so the hunting will be easy tonight. I’ll set an easy gate, so as not to tire you too quickly. Remember I said, stay close and keep your eyes open. “Ssshhh!” I told you to step light. This is going to be a disaster. If you botch this hunt tonight, you had better look for a very high tree to hide in.

We should be very close by now; I have picked up their scent a while back. Remember the golden rule of approaching your prey; always stay down wind from them. This will give you the advantage of picking up their scent before they realise that you are in the vicinity. Go down on you haunches and move to my right. The lionesses will now move in for the chase while we will flank the herd and cut off their escape.

Move!!! They are trying to break through our defences, cut left, more to your left. Keep an eye on the front lioness; she is moving in for the kill. Great she got her prey, now stand back while I go and feast on the succulent tender meat. Keep your eyes pealed for those snickering, scavengers we heard earlier on this evening. No Hyena will dare come close while I am here.

Well that seems to be it for the evening. The others will now move back to our lair to tend to the young, but you and I will stay behind. You still have a lot to learn and there is nothing like the present to do it in. I have seen a nice spot where we can settle down and from where we can keep watch. All animals have a strong sense of smell and hearing and by now they know quite well that there has been a kill. Their curiosity and need to feed will bring them here in no time.

Look, there comes our first customer. It’s a Black-backed jackal. See how cautiously it moves and you will also notice that it is very jittery. The slightest sound makes it freeze in its tracks. Good it’s found the feeding spot and is now picking up the scraps left behind. Hold it, hold it, carefully turn your head to the left, at the edge of the clearing next to the big baobab tree, that is a Spotted Hyena and it’s not alone. Remember these are the ugliest and meanest looking creatures you have seen in the bush, but they are the biggest cowards on four paws. Well, that’s one Jackal we will not see again tonight thanks to these giggling clowns.

Ready for some fun? Come on, get up and stop shivering, you’re worse than those hyenas. Remember you are in the presence of royalty, the king of the jungle. Follow me; we are going to surprise them with our presence. Remember they found what was left of the carcass abandoned and do no suspect that I am still here. Look how greedy they are, snapping at each other and gulping down what ever scraps they can find.

Time to make my grand entrance and to add some sound to it as well. Man that was fun! Hey where are you? Now what, that was not even my best roar? Come on lets go lie down again. I like this game, its great fun.

Ever looked up at the sky at night? Those stars, like diamonds glistening in its black velvet casing and look at the horizon, its being painted a pale yellow by the rising full moon. It should help you to see better in the darkness as well. Sorry did you say something? I get so carried away with the wonders of the night, that my mind was somewhere else for a moment. Oh, the echoing sounds? Those are bats calling out to each other and also to establish where their prey is. You can get some sleep now; there will not be much action till after day break.

Good morning! Wake up, wake up! I heard there was another kill last night, apparently some nomad Lion that passing through my territory. I’ll have to speak to this guy, perhaps use some persuasive tactics to set him on the right way. But right now we have to move, if we still want to catch some action at the carcass.

My, my, this guy has got some guts. That is the remains of a young Buffalo calf. I wonder if he is really on his own. What’s that rumbling noise? You surly can’t still be hungry after last nights feast. Well now is not the time to think of food. You are here to learn and discover nature’s wonders. Move back into the shade some more, we do not want the other animals to spot us so quickly.

Look up, see those Vultures circling. It wont be long before they descend and cleanout that carcass. Well they have competition. Here comes a pack of wild dogs and they really look famished. Good reason too, there are young pups among them that need feeding. Now this will be interesting to see who is going to win this one. But while the vultures stay in the air, the wild dogs have nothing to worry about and they can eat their fill to their hearts content.

You should remember that you have a food chain which you adhere to and so do we out here in the wild. The only exception is that ours is more complex, as we have a bigger variety that need to feed or be fed. Remember last night, we caught an Impala and then the Jackal came by as well as the Hyena. Who knows what else came by to scavenge on the scraps we left behind? Now look at what we have here today, Vultures, Wild dogs, the rogue Lion that made this catch and many more creatures waiting for their chance to feed here.

I think it is time to take you to a water hole. My throat is parched from all this talking. By now the rest of the pride will be wondering what is keeping us. Let’s move along, there is so much more I would like to show you. When we get near the water hole, do not just rush in and start drinking. We will first observe very carefully who else is at the water hole and then we will go and have a nice long drink. Come on step up, I can’t wait for you all day.

Now if that is not a welcome sight, look at that shimmering water, don’t you feel like just jumping right in? I know, I just warned you not to rush in, but I said “Don’t just feel like jumping in?” Let’s get comfortable under this old Knob Thorn tree. Move up a bit, I would like some shade too. Thanks. Mother Nature is on our side today, the wind is blowing in our direction, preventing those at the waters side from detecting us and the grass is dense enough for us to lie here and not be seen. You see nature also provides its creatures with their own camouflage, the colour of our hides. This allows us to blend in easily with our surroundings, thus giving us that little edge on surviving another day.

Have you counted the different species down there at the water? I have at least five. There is Impala, Waterbuck, Zebra’s, Warthogs and some Wildebeest as well. We are in luck; you do not always see so many animals down here, all at once. Note how they are always keeping an eye out for predators. Remember we Lions are not the only one’s hunting out here. Quiet, here comes trouble! Elephants and they have their young with them. You do not want to come between an Elephant cow and here calf or for any reason threaten the herd while they have young with them.

Now these guys enjoy a good swim and a mud bath once in a while. I don’t think you realised that such a huge animal could submerge itself under water, did you? Thought so. Watch how the cows protect their young from going in to deep, by placing them selves between the calves and the deep water. Sometimes I think humans can catch some tips from these guys on how to raise and protect their young. Except for the mud baths they take you will notice that sometime they will throw dust all over themselves, it also helps to kill the parasites on their hides.

Do you recognise that pungent smell? It is the Waterbuck that have moved closer. Remember the smell, some time in to the future you will need to identify it again. Buffalo also have a distinctive smell to themselves; hopefully we will meet up with them soon. There goes the elephants, we should start moving closer, I need something to drink now.

Why is it that every time I or any of my pride comes out to quench our thirst all animals at the water runs of like a bunch of cowards? Listen to that Zebra braying, and did you see that warthog nearly doing a back flip when it saw me. They should realise that if I was out on the hunt, one of them would be a snack by now.

Have you noticed those funny looking animals with their round legs and hairless bodies? They always have these creatures sticking out of the holes in their sides and some times I see they have holes on top of them as well. Must say they do not look very appetising. Tried a taste of one once and nearly lost a tooth. And these creatures are cowards as well, because as I was about to take another bite, it jumped forward with a snort and it’s creatures were screaming as they went racing of down the footpath they all seem to like so much. Say again? The creatures are called humans and the animals are called motor cars. Strange name for an animal.

I am going to lie down now next to their foot path and pretend to be sleeping, or should I lie down in the middle of their foot path? Watch closely, and you will understand what I meant by saying these are strange creatures. Here they come, much like ants, always following each other in one long line. Hey, watch it; you nearly stepped on my tail! Yeah, run away you coward’s. Looks like you’re afraid to stand your ground against me. Must say I nearly lost a nail there when I slapped it on its side. Did you see how those creatures inside reacted? Sorry, did you see how the humans reacted?

This is boring and dangerous. Let’s get of this foot path the humans use; I prefer my own route through the bush. Much safer. Do you know what I find strange about these humans? They will always stop and look at the big animals, but what about the smaller creatures like the tortoises, chameleons, squirrels, snakes and even the dung beatles to name only a few.

Humans seem to be attracted to Baboons and Monkeys as well. Just the other day I came across some humans watching a troop of Monkeys playing around next to the road. There they were making all funny sounds, acting like monkeys and scratching under their arms. Must say they were not very convincing. And I think it’s a good thing they do not understand us, because the comments some of the Monkeys made were not even fit for the young to hear.

Have I told you about the encounter I had with a Porcupine? Now that is one guy you do not want to end up on its wrong side. I was still young and inexperienced when I literary ran into it. We were chasing some Zebra when I happened to spot this funny looking animal and thought “now this will impress the older lions, if I can catch it”, little realising that those quills protruding from its back is actually its main defence system. Well at the speed I was travelling there was no turning back and I was already committed to the tackle. Call it luck or fait, I cant say, but at the last moment the Porcupine scampered into a hole and I only managed a sideways swipe at it, but that was just as worse. There I was, with a paw full of its quills. Nearly lost a paw, thanks to that spiked rodent. Needless to say I was the joke of the pride for a long time after that. I sometimes still hear some of them joke and snicker behind my back about that incident.

And I call you lazy bones. Now that that guy up there in the Sausage tree beats you hands down right now. It is definitely not regarded as one of your average playmates as well. You see, the Leopard is also a nocturnal animal, as it does most of its hunting by night, as we lions do. Do not mistake the Leopard for a Cheetah due to their spots. The leopard has a heavier, stockier body and its head is larger and like our friend up there, Cheetahs generally do not climb trees.
Nothing feels better than being back with the pride again. Look at that, the licking, touching, purring; now if that is not good fellowship, I will not know what is. I hope you have enjoyed your journey of discovery here in the Kruger National Park and keep in mind that life’s a journey and that this adventure need not end here.
See you again soon, and then we will test you to see if on this journey of discovery you have learnt some valuable lessons to share with others you meet on their journey of discovery.