STORIES FROM THE BUSH

Savuti Zebra Migration

After so many wonderful visits the various amazing places in Botswana with Lloyd and Daphne we thought we had seen it all. But once again we have been left breathless and amazed.

The migration of zebra and wildebeest was totally unforgettable. .

We had heard about the zebra migration but when we set out that morning there really wasn’t much to see. Of course there were already some zebra and wildebeest scattered around the plains but nothing unusual. Lloyd seemed to know exactly where he was heading, and of course he did. He stopped at one stage, we looked around to see what had caught his eye - lion spoor! And soon enough we came across them, 4 lionesses waiting patiently in the shade. Lloyd climbed up onto the canopy of the Landcruiser and scanned the horizon. There was nothing that we could see. But he had seen signs that a lrage zebra herd was approaching from behind the small sand ridge that marks the boundary of the Mobabe depression. They were about 2 kilometers away.

Lloyd said. “You’ll see a kill this morning”, And having parked us in a shady vantage point we waited quietly. There were lions but no prey in sight, anywhere! But appearances can be deceptive. He whispered to us - “Watch that female”. Sure enough the lions were quietly taking up their positions. One had disappeared altogether and the other three were just shadows in the grass. Soon enough we could see the distant shapes of the huge zebra herd as it crested the sand ridge. Masses of zebra with young and a generous sprinkling of wildebeest.

They came directly for us and we sat with bated breath. By now they were almost passing in front of us and there was no sign of the lions. Suddenly the herd shattered as the lionesses broke cover and in no time they had pulled down a zebra calf virtually in front of us. The lionesses tore at it for they must have known what was coming. “Look” whispered Lloyd – and here came the biggest male lion I have ever seen closing in at a swaggering lope. With blood chilling snarls and growls tore into the lionesses grabbing the carcass from them.

How close can you be to a kill? Close enough for blood from the zebra to spatter the front of my shirt as the male grabbed the small carcass and swung it up and away from the lionesses. Happy that he had made his point he settled down to his spoils. The calf was too small for the lionesses even to chance a grab at any part of it so he took his time. The lionesses settled down resignedly a short distance away pretending that it had nothing to do with them and not even deigning to watch him eat. Satisfied he wandered off to find a shady spot to dream striped dreams.

The lionesses wandered over to look for spoils. All that was left was a blood-stained mark on the sand and the small hairy tip of the calf’s tail. One licked the sand, another found the tail and the other two walked off in disgust to set another ambush.

For the rest of our stay we seemed to be surrounded by a striped sea of bodies as the herd slowly worked its way through Savute, there were zebra everywhere. And lion of course!

It was chilling to see an age-old story play itself out, prey and predator – and both bent on survival.

Jane Forbes
Savuti Botswana