Big Cats, Zambia — Destination: Global

13°22’57”S 31°31’34”E (MAP)

Altitude 520m (1706 feet)

27 JUNE 2024

Today I’m writing from my “cabin” at the Bushcamp Company’s Lodge in Mfuwe. It overlooks a wonderful hippo waterhole that’s covered in delicious (if you’re a hippo) green slimy vegetation, and is surrounded by the bush, other than on the side where our cabins are.

The hippos are exceptionally entertaining – a moment ago one roared, grunted & snorted, stimulating others to do the same. Every so often I hear a splash as they spurt water out of their mouths. Some young are also with them, learning how to feed, make hippo noises and live with other hippos.

A short while ago, a black heron was pecking at some leaves on a tree outside the balcony railing, and earlier, as Sue M & I returned from our morning game drive, two baboons leapt from trees onto our balcony, then noisily continued on – growling and “barking”, just to make noise.

A couple of days ago, we had vervet monkeys join us – one with her young. These are very cute and have soft-looking fur; some may know them as the monkeys with blue balls. The following photo shows a female vervet monkey grooming a male – both were very happy with the process!

And now to photos and descriptions of some of our encounters with big cats (lions and leopards) that we’ve been having over the last 10 days.

On my previous visit two years ago, we saw only a few lions on occasional days. This visit is entirely different – we’re seeing lions most days and leopards every second or third day, often at night.

Last week, our guide Malenga, drove us masterfully towards an area where lions were expected. Soon we were in the thick of 4WDs coming from various directions. They were positioned somewhat untidily, but he soon had us looking along the track as the lions walked towards us.

No talking, very low whispering, nothing protruding outside the walls of the 4WD, slow movements, no bright colours. The only thing I heard was shutters clicking and Sue F sitting behind me saying very, very, very quietly: “come this way” – and my brain saying the same thing.

And they did!

At one point, the alpha male (the one leading), stopped to look across the Luangwa River.

Then on they went. We followed, Malenga repositioning us for the best encounters. We were so close that two times I could have reached out to touch them, to feel the fur on their bodies and their mane.

Finally this amazing encounter ended – we let them go along their way, to wherever they were going. And we went ours.

Sometimes we see lions lazing around after a successful hunt and a large meal, such as the hippo described in the previous post. Other times they’re walking from place to place, always on the lookout for a tasty meal, or ensuring that another lion that has strayed into their territory should not be there.

Last night a large pride of around 15 lions, including young ones, crossed in front of us as we stopped to watch – they were out hunting. And this afternoon we saw several of these resting on the shore beside the Luangwa River following a successful hunt of a Cape Buffalo.

As we watched them, one left the group, climbed up the river bank, and walked right by us – her scruffy fur suggesting that there’d been quite a tussle.

It still amazes me how close we can be to these wild animals. Of course we stay silent and still as they walk right be our open 4WDs – any movement or strange noise can spook them.

Male lions growl and roar to let other lions know that this is “my” territory and to keep away. The roar comes from deep within their body and can be heard many kilometers away. I heard these most nights in the Serengeti – it was wonderful to wake up to early in the morning, or through the night!

I was lucky to be able to record their roar last week when we were driving back to Mfuwe Lodge from the Chindeni Bush Camp. Two lions had stopped in the shade of a Landrover, and were watching a large herd of Cape Buffalo that were gradually coming closer. They roared once to warn the buffalo to not come close. Then they roared a second time – and I was able to video this and to hear the sound very clearly.

My guide in Namiri Plains explained that the Swahili believe that the lions are saying the following (the words/sounds can be in groups of 3 or 5 or more):

“Whose land is this? Whose land is this? Whose land is this?”

“It’s mine. It’s mine. It’s mine.”

And as I was reminded by Malenga: “please don’t play this in or near any game park”. It can be interpreted as a signal to lions that there is an intruder in their territory.

Leopards

Zambia has the largest population of leopards. In the last post you’ll have seen the photo of Ricky on a tree with his kill. We have since had multiple sightings of various leopards, at night and during the day. In fact we saw two today.

Some sightings are more satisfying than others. At night spotlights can be used to highlight leopards and lions – but the cats move quickly, and the light can be harsh making photography difficult.

This morning we came across Lucy (Ricky’s mother) striding across the grass, her belly very full with a relatively recent meal. She really is a beautiful animal.

Later we saw her walking purposefully across a grassy plain towards some trees and a small herd of impala. They moved away, hooting and barking to warn others that she was nearby. She ignored them, and kept on her path before we lost her in the high grass.

This afternoon, following the lion sighting, we heard that there was another leopard nearby. Peter our guide today, headed in the right direction, and there she was, sitting quietly on the grass in the glare of a very bright white spotlight and several other warmer-coloured ones.

One surprising feature of this beautiful leopard is her eyes. She looks cross-eyed, and this is visible in a number of photos.

She seemed unconcerned with all the attention, and it was soon time to move along.

Tomorrow we start our morning game drive at the usual time of 6:30am. After 4 days of driving through the areas close to the main Lodge, we will be driving to the Bilimungwe safari camp for 2 nights. We’ll take several hours to drive there, stopping to look at animals and vegetation along the way.