Lion vs. Zebra

On the morning of June 30^th we took Lozi and Mana for a five and half hour pride walk. Lozi was fresh off his first ever kill, a warthog, which had taken place during the previous days afternoon walk. This is excellent news, not for the warthog, but in that the lion breeding program here at Antelope Park is working. You see, Lozi and Mana were bred and born in captivity here at the park. They were fed their meat and are now starting to hunt on their own. Soon they will be taken on night encounters where they will hunt and kill large prey. Once they are doing this on a consistence basis, they will be taken to Dollar Block, a game reserve and research facility in Bulawayo. There they will be able to run free though out the entire reserve and hunt as they wish. They are heavily monitored to insure they continue to hunt. Then, we cross our fingers and wait for success with the next step which is when the lions breed and give birth in a natural environment. These cubs will not be handled by humans. Once they are full grown, they will be safely captured and placed in secure game preserves throughout Africa.

Back to our walk. Lozi the killer greats me with a deep, tender moan and brushes his head against my leg. I notice blood stains around his mane. The stain comes to a point just above his chest like a gold medal. It’s a beautiful sunrise over the bush and the air is fresh and crisp. I’m happy to be in Zimbabwe with the King of Beast. Joining me on the walk are two lion handlers, Everest and Lucky and four other volunteers. One from London, two from Iceland and another from the U.S. After a breakfast picnic of oranges, crisps, and biscuits, FFi from London fills me in on the social life at AP. The animals aren’t the only thing wild at AP… fun group of vols and staff. You know the saying…. “Work hard, play hard”.

The second half of our walk proves to be a real adventure. We spot giraffe, impala, and a heard of Zebra. Lozi and Mana become very excited when they see game. Watching them stalk really gets your adrenaline going. It was pretty much the same scenario. The lions would spot the game. There would be a stare-off of about 5-10 seconds. Then the either the lions or the game would move. The game would always flee the scene and the lions would give up. Until they encounter the herd of Zebra.

There they were, a spectacular herd of Zebra. There black and white stripes were so vibrant it look as if they had been freshly painted. Lozi and Mana assumed stalking position. Lozi, a bit full of himself after killing a warthog is lying almost flat to the bush. Ears back, head down, tip of his tail twitching in steady rhythm as if counting down the seconds until he charges. Unlike the other game, the Zebras don’t seem to be as impressed with Lozi’s gold metal of wart hog blood. Then Lozi charges after the herd. They all scamper forward. Then one stallion turns to challenge Lozi who runs away with his tail between his legs! We all roar with laughter. Remember, were not in a Land Rover… we’re on foot. Talk about a front row seat! This little game carriers on for several minutes. Towards the end, Lozi almost gets the Zebra. I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster. Part of me was cheering on Lozi, but the other part of me was hoping the Zebra would not be injured or killed.