Chobe National Park

It's early morning, and we are in the Jeep today. The sun rises with its usual glory while we drive through Chobe National Park, looking for more animals to watch, learn about and photograph.

Our driver receives a message from a friend in another jeep that lions have been spotted. He heads in that direction, taking the shortest route he knows.

We don't drive for very long when suddenly, we find ourselves in the middle of a pride of lions stalking a herd of cape buffalo near the water.

I couldn't believe my eyes. There were lions in every direction, laser-focused on their possible target, seemingly communicating and strategizing their every move. We watched them move slowly and swiftly towards the herd, which quickly ran away when the lions were close. This was a pride of 17 lions!

The lions eventually stopped the chase, either because they were just practicing or did not see an easy target. The guides knew they were not hungry as they all went back to a fresh cape buffalo carcass sitting under the shade of a tree.

We watched for a while as lions came and went from the carcass, while several black-back Jackals tried to get close to get in on the feast. One Jackal got a little too close and was chased away by a young lion.

It was mindboggling how the lions didn't even care there were jeeps around them. They don’t see the jeeps as a threat and often even use them as a screen while hunting.

Experiencing so many lions so close, so focused and absolutely beautiful was nothing I ever expected to see. It was an experience I'll never forget.

We then left the lions to carry on and stopped for a coffee and snacks. While there, we heard a report of male lions feeding on a carcass nearby, so went to check them out.

I was surprised that we drove a very short distance to find them. Who knew we were having a coffee break so close? They were near their carcass in the bush, so although we saw them, it wasn’t a great view.

This morning’s experience was remarkable!