On a rainy morning this past week, after much debate whether we would actually even be heading out at all for the morning, we went in search of Africa’s bovine beasts, the Cape Buffalo…
Should you be one of the lucky ones to know…we headed out to the Uitschot area, in the south eastern region of the reserve.
As we arrived, descending over the crest, there they were; a 100 strong herd of prime specimen! We could immediately sense that something was potting and agitation was in the air. Approaching slowly we spotted the cause of the unrest….
The 6 Bafanas (our male lions) tracking the herd…Hoping that they might have a lucky day with a calf straggling behind or something like that…But the tables got turned in an instant!
Some of the Buffalo bulls had had enough of the pestering young boys and started charging at them to try and deter their keen interest. As clever as Buffalo are, they honed in on one particular lion and just as they were about to teach him a valuable lesson, an awkwardly small Marula tree played a life saving part in this episode.
The lion swiftly clambered up the tree to safety, and was it just! There was probably only about 50cm to spare between the Buffalo’s deadly horns and the lions dangling foot as he perched himself on a branch.
What a sight to see! Africa’s top predator, trapped like a vulnerable about to be prey! The Buffalo milled around the tree for about half an hour before loosing interest and moving on… hopefully leaving the irritants behind!
As soon as the coast was clear the lion dismounted the tree with grace and rejoined his 5 brothers that were still hanging around in the thickets. And before long…they were back on the track of the Buffalo herd, continuing in their hunt for their eternal foe.
It’s thrilling to be a part and be able to witness these breathtaking moments at Amakhosi. Needless to say, all of us were delighted that we had taken our ranger’s advice and headed out for the morning…
Because on days like these it is not even an option to consider staying in, when the bush is alive with amazing surprises such as this!
Should you be one of the lucky ones to know…we headed out to the Uitschot area, in the south eastern region of the reserve.
As we arrived, descending over the crest, there they were; a 100 strong herd of prime specimen! We could immediately sense that something was potting and agitation was in the air. Approaching slowly we spotted the cause of the unrest….
The 6 Bafanas (our male lions) tracking the herd…Hoping that they might have a lucky day with a calf straggling behind or something like that…But the tables got turned in an instant!
Some of the Buffalo bulls had had enough of the pestering young boys and started charging at them to try and deter their keen interest. As clever as Buffalo are, they honed in on one particular lion and just as they were about to teach him a valuable lesson, an awkwardly small Marula tree played a life saving part in this episode.
The lion swiftly clambered up the tree to safety, and was it just! There was probably only about 50cm to spare between the Buffalo’s deadly horns and the lions dangling foot as he perched himself on a branch.
What a sight to see! Africa’s top predator, trapped like a vulnerable about to be prey! The Buffalo milled around the tree for about half an hour before loosing interest and moving on… hopefully leaving the irritants behind!
As soon as the coast was clear the lion dismounted the tree with grace and rejoined his 5 brothers that were still hanging around in the thickets. And before long…they were back on the track of the Buffalo herd, continuing in their hunt for their eternal foe.
It’s thrilling to be a part and be able to witness these breathtaking moments at Amakhosi. Needless to say, all of us were delighted that we had taken our ranger’s advice and headed out for the morning…
Because on days like these it is not even an option to consider staying in, when the bush is alive with amazing surprises such as this!
