Zambia: Walk With The Lions

If my elephant safari wasn't incredible enough, Leah and Kern also booked the family for another African animal activity: walking with lions!

A shuttle fetched us from the hotel and took us down a few gravel roads to the reception hut with Mukini Big 5 Safari Company. We were all buzzing with excitement at the prospect of walking alongside big cats!

As we sipped coffee and waited for our guides to show up, we were introduced to a really nice fellow from the UK, named Matthew. He was travelling through Africa for a couple months on his own and would be joining our group for the day. 

Poor guy, he was sunburnt tomato red on 90% of his body. The day before, he had done Devil's Pool. However, instead of boating there like we did, he opted to walk and ended up being exposed in the harsh African sun for over 8 hours. Even the tops of his hands were burned! Owwie. 

After coffee, we were introduced to our three guides who would be spending the morning with us. They set off onto a beaten dirt path into the bush and we followed closely behind. 

Before we were introduced to the cats, the chief guide took us off to the side to lay down the ground rules:

1. You must always walk behind the cats. Walking in front communicates to them that you are open to things like play-fighting and love bites: things that are okay if you are a 200lb lion... not so much if you're a puny human. 

2. You are given a 1 metre-long stick. This stick is used to distract the lion from getting too bored or anxious while you are petting it. (very advanced technology here)

3. Do not touch the lions on their head, ears, face, or paws. 

4. While petting the lions, talk continuously. This calms them and lets them know where you are and what to expect. 

The instructions were straightforward but still a bit frightening. It seemed like a lot could go wrong in the blink of an eye. 

Leah was also quick to point out under her breath that none of the guides carried firearms. This worried her, but it still didn't deter her from sticking very, very close to the guides for the entire walk! Her and I share a rather strong weariness around felines -- especially when they're as big as the ones we met that day. 

After choosing our "weapons" (i.e. debarked, skinny tree branches), our group continued down the dirt path towards the cats. We could hear them long before we saw them. Their powerful, low rumblings made your throat catch. 

As we rounded the corner, there they were: two were nestled up with one another, while the larger of the three sat off to the side. 

Turns out the two cuddling were both female and the sitting alone was the male (typical, right??haha). 

Luigi (the male) sits off to the side while the two females play around (one was named Lozi... as for the other one's name, unfortunately no one can remember).

 

So cute yet so intimidating at the same time!

Luigi and his just-sprouting mane

The guides were great in teaching us about the lions and answering our many questions. They had been working with these particular lions since they were little so they were very knowledgeable. 

The only struggle was dealing with standing around in the heat of the sun! It was SO hot that morning. Clearly, Luigi had the right idea in keeping to himself over in the shade!

Once all the talking was done, we were each invited to go up and pet one of the females. She was in a relaxed mood and was lying in an ideal position for (safe!) human touch.  

It was amazing how thick and soft their fur was. Also neat was seeing up close just how massive their paws are. It was easily twice my hand -- and these guys still weren't full grown!  

The female was loving all the attention -- look at how relaxed she is! 

Kern showing off his 'stick handling' skills

(You can also see one of the guides distracting Luigi with a stick in the background)

From there, we waited while the guides prodded the cats to get up for a walk. They were reluctant to move, which is understandable considering the heat!

The two girls were hesitant to break their spooning to go for a walk

The moment the cats pulled themselves up and to full height was one I will never forget. 

It's one thing to pet them and appreciate their power whilst they are lying down... it is another thing to have them walk around you and see that their spines come up to your waist. Their heads were twice the size of my own, their claws the thickness of my pinky finger, and the solid muscle rippling underneath their fur was plainly easy to see. Holy smokes!! 

It was clear that this was their domain and if they really wanted you out of it, there was little anyone could do to stop it. 

Leah was pretty nervous about the whole thing and I'll admit that I was too. There we were, walking through the bush with three large lions, like we were all one big Cesar Milan dog pack!

The cats were free to run off the path, lay down, stretch, or climb trees as they pleased. It was so cool to see them interact with their environment in such an intimate way. 

Suddenly the experience of looking at lions inside a pen at the zoo seemed really, really lame. 

Sharpening her claws on her favorite tree (the guides told us that she stops to do this every time she passes by it). 

Sorry about the lighting -- I told you it was a hot sunny day! 

Luigi had a thing for large sticks -- he carried this through the bush as we walked. 

When they stopped to rest, we were invited to approach them for another pet!

Leah never took her eyes off that lion's head for one second!haha

The coolest part of the walk? Getting to hold Lozi's tail while walking!!

Ever since she was a baby, she's loved to have her tail touched. She was brought up with people holding it while she walks and now that she's nearly full grown, she still enjoys it! The guides told us she finds it calming and helps to get in her good books by building trust and affection.

That said, it was still pretty scary to have to jog up behind a lion, reach down, and grab their tail. Pretty sure that ends badly in about every children's cartoon out there.  

Pretty amazing, eh?

This girl loved being in the trees! She sat up there for a solid 5 minutes before the guides shooed her down and back onto the walking path. 

After a mind-boggling full hour of walking with the lions, we were brought back to our starting point.

We all gave a goodbye pat to the cats and thanked the guides for doing a great job.

That said, there was still one little bit of drama to go...

Aaron go the fright of his life when he crouched down behind Luigi. As Aaron stroked his fur, Luigi suddenly snapped his head backwards and lunged towards Aaron's face.

Aaron flew backwards on his heels while a guide threw a stick in Luigi's face to distract him from going after Aaron.

It all happened in a split second but still managed to stop all of our hearts beating! Whew.

Can't really blame the guy though. Luigi was probably just feeling as tuckered out and uncomfortably hot as we were.

Luigi and Aaron, right before the lunge

What a cuuuuute picture of a cuuuuuute couple :) 

Me saying my final goodbye to the big cats!

After spending time with the big cats, we were brought over to the nursery where we were given the opportunity to meet the babies.

I had already spent time with baby lions at the Rhino & Lion Park back in November, but really now, does such a thing ever get old?? I think not!

Trouble is, it turns out my housecat allergies translate to big cats as well. Seems obvious now but at the time I thought I might get away without having took my antihistamines. Not so much. 

I may have been battling with a clogged, mucus-filled nose and itchy, burning contact lenses, but that still didn't dampen my joy at seeing these little beauties: 

Look at those eyes!!

Little guy with a BIG yawn & BIG teeth

They paid little attention to our touching and simply carried on wrestling and fooling around -- too cute!

Stunning!

Our morning had been a lion-filled whirlwind and the afternoon only got cooler: play-time with cheetahs!

Stay tuned for those cats in the next post!