Lions and elephants again

August 15

It was very windy overnight, bringing the sound of sand flying against our tent sides and dry acacia leaves on the roof (which sounded like rain but we knew that was highly unlikely during the dry season). We didn’t see many new species today, but we witnessed a lot of animal behaviors. Early on our morning dive we met 2 lionesses and their 4 nearly grown cubs, all slightly pink from their overnight meal. We watched them settle down for a long snooze, and then on our evening drive we met them again: stretching, yawning, and grooming one another. Then they headed off to a nearby water hole for a drink. The water hole was already in use by a large herd of elephants with many young ones. We watched the four young lions practice their stalking skills, sneaking up on the elephants. We expected a great trumpeting and rushing away by the elephants, but instead the lions lay down near the water and patiently waited for the elephants to leave. 

This afternoon we met with a researcher from the nearby predator conservations center, which started as a dedicated center for wild dogs in the 1980s and expanded to the full suite of Gomoti predators (lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena and dogs) in 2006. They collect a lot of tracking and behavioral data, including identifying individuals, that are then used by guest researchers to study specific questions. Did you know that not only leopards and cheetahs have unique spot pattens, but also hyenas?  They are also researching how to introduce synthetic pheromones to discourage predators from raiding domestic livestock. Gomoti has an unusual, and growing, concentration of lions. While this is wonderful for tourists, it is detrimental to the wild dog population. The local pair of wild dogs at Gomoti started with 8 pups this season. The lions have reduced that to three, and the adults had to move their den.  No tourists are allowed near the den to prevent accidentally tipping off the lions to the new location. 

On our night drive tonight we saw a young genet and got some great astronomy photos. Back at the camp, elephants visited the water hole as we were gathering for our farewell dinner, and two hyenas dropped by as we were heading back to our tents. 

Pictured: young genet, young giraffe at our water hole, kori bustard