A Walk on the Wild Side

There was a fresh wind blowing away the rain clouds as the Davis family - Mark, Sally and Kate (8) – set out from Ngaroi camp shortly after dawn to drive to the hills bordering Serengeti for their second walking safari. We were accompanied by Philip, our walking guide and a professional hunter; Naiman, our driver, guide and companion for our whole safari; John, a Masai guide; and Mustapha, from the camp.

The drive was eventful in that we didn’t get stuck! We saw a great deal of plains game – zebra, Thompson and Grants gazelles, eland - and remarkably a substantial family of ostriches with around 15 chicks. We were treated to a display of dummy runs with a pretend broken wing from one of the males, who was hoping to distract us from pursuing the flock. As we covered the plain to our destination, we could see buffalo in the lower areas of the hill.

When we arrived at the foot of the hill, we spotted a mature cheetah and slowly followed him in the jeep as he began to climb the scree. We left our jeep and began to follow on foot, hoping to pick up his tracks. As we walked carefully up the hill, Philip showed us the tracks of an eland which seemed to have turned hurriedly and run down the hill earlier in the morning. Shortly afterwards we saw fresh impala tracks and some very fresh spots of blood which Philip thought came from impala, although he did not necessarily think the animal was wounded but might have just given birth. Suddenly, as we looked up to the brow of the hill about 30 metres in front of us, we saw two lionesses and two cubs scampering down the hill. They took no notice of us and disappeared, we thought, down into the Serengeti.

We continued to walk up the hill, hearing the wind whistling through the thorns on the acacia bushes, until we gained the summit and had remarkable panoramic views over the Serengeti and back across the Loliondo area and up to the Kenyan border. It felt magnificent, with the sun and a gentle wind and views of game grazing below. We saw mountain reedbuck at the top of the hill and then found a sheltered spot for our morning coffee overlooking the Serengeti. As we looked down into the plain we could see giraffe, hyenas and gazelle, who looked rather unsettled. We thought this might be as a result of the lion that we had seen going down the mountain.

Suddenly, Philip, Naiman and John heard a warning whistle from the reedbuck. They looked round and Naiman shouted “Simba”. We looked up and the hill was alive with lion. On the right, a very young cub was coming down the hill – and disappeared from sight – about 30 metres away. A slightly older male cub was heading straight for our temporary camp and up on the brow of the hill we could see other cubs and lionesses. Philip started shouting in Swahili and walking towards the cub to scare it away, but it kept on coming. At less than 10 metres away, Philip fired a warning shot in front of the cub to stop it and after a few seconds (and a few metres closer) the cub stopped and turned back up the hill. On the left immediately above our position, a mature lioness was now gaining ground, growling and charging towards us. Everyone shouted and John towered over Kate to protect her, raising his spear in case of an attack. Thankfully, the lioness stopped, roared and turned back up the hill, without another shot being needed. We could see other lionesses and cubs on the top of the hill, looking down at us, but they then all turned away and disappeared from sight.

We were all very shaken. But of course, we finished our tea!! We then decided to curtail our walk and go and find our vehicle (and reassure Mustapha who was waiting and would have heard the shot, that we were all OK). We climbed back up the hill, making as much noise as possible. We didn’t want to come upon the lions again by mistake. We radioed to Mustapha that we were OK and set off down the hill. As we descended, John and Naiman looked back up the hill and saw that a couple of the lions appeared to be following us. Everyone armed themselves with some stones, just in case, and Sally and Kate recited poetry to keep them feeling brave. To add to the excitement, on the right, Mark and Kate spotted a buffalo in a thicket. Philip thought it might be in distress and at that point thought it might have been wounded by the lion.

We continued down and were pleased to reach Mustapha and the safety of the vehicle. Once refreshed, we noticed vultures circling over a thicket close by. We edged the vehicle towards the thicket, and we then saw that it contained a dead buffalo. Philip, Naiman and John gingerly got out to explore. After about 10 minutes they returned to tell us that the buffalo had not been killed by lion, but probably by Morani – Masai warriors, who are required to kill fierce animals as a rite of passage to manhood. Unusually, however, they had not cut off the tail, and so Philip speculated that one of them might have been hurt in the process and therefore returned to their boma for medical treatment. Philip also thought that it might have been the presence of the warriors on the mountain that had made all of the game so jumpy and caused the behaviour of the lions. Having been given the all-clear – it did not seem that the lion had found the buffalo yet, but could smell it and were probably looking for it – Mark, Sally and Kate walked a little closer (but not too close!) to see the buffalo.

We then returned to the vehicle and made our way back to our camp having had the most remarkable life experience. We were immensely grateful to our three guides. A walk in the park turned into a walk on the wild side!

This was the first time I have had to fire a shot on a photographic walking safari. I would be too much to ask that it be the last. Although we try to get close to all wildlife on these walks it is my job to prevent a direct confrontation as this definitely was. The good news is that it was the lions that ran into us and not that we were approaching them.

Everybody did exactly the right thing and stood their ground, not an easy thing with the deep soul shaking growls of lion all around. If any of us had shown the fear we all felt in the pit of our stomachs and backed up or turned to run the lioness that charged might not have stopped and I would have had to kill her. I had the bead on her and would have waited until she was on us before firing, I had also had time to reload the first barrel of the double .470 rifle I was carrying, before she started her charge, and always had the second barrel un fired as back-up.

This was a day that none of us will forget, not only for the lions but the breathtaking beauty of the area during the rains and the variety if animals and puzzling behavior we uncounted. The wilderness is always more complicated than it seams on the surface and every time I venture out into it I learn more.

This was Kate’s day though, who still very shaken immediately after the lionesses charge, had not lost her sense of humour, “ I think I have seen enough lions now.” she said.