Skip to main content

The Royal Family of Lionesses

 



In celebration of National Cat Day, let me introduce you to The Royal Family of Lionesses.  In the foreground is the Queen. On the left in the background is the Queen Mother.  The lovelies to the left of QM are the princesses. In the photo on the right, two of the princesses are having a precious moment together.  The ladies are calm, beautiful, and very photogenic.  And terrifying.


Moments before they settled into their poses, the felines sauntered by our vehicle. In fact, they surrounded us as they passed. I know they could have cared less that we were there - they only see a big blob that smells of diesel fuel, not something wonderfully delicious. Nevertheless, there are rules to follow during an encounter with a dangerous animal.  Move as slowly as a chameleon pretending not to exist, fight flailing your arms even if a spider is crawling on you or a wasp is circling your nose, whisper, don’t stretch outside of the frame of the vehicle to “get the shot,” and if you are me, keep your breathing to a minimum and only follow the predators with your eyes.  


And if ever caught outside of the game vehicle, say to relieve oneself, and a lion strolls by (yes, this has happened), DON’T RUN. 


I love watching lions in the bush. They are golden, muscular animals that show no mercy for their prey when on the hunt. Survival! The females in the pride do most of the hunting; they are protective nurturers of the cubs and vicious defenders of their territory.  Like Katniss Everdeen or Ellen Ripley or real women of power like Harriet Tubman or Ruth Bader Ginsburg, they are symbols of female power.


Except when the males, who are dominant, demanding, and, yep, pretty dang lazy, show up.   They come and go as they please, protecting the pride’s territory. Oh, they will assist in taking down dinner if the prey is big.  But mostly, the ladies do the work and let the males eat their fill first.  


I guess it’s a relationship that works.  The females provide, and the males protect.  Simple, right?


#writing #personalessays #nationalcatday #theroyalfamily #femalepower #mylastmonthsinsafrica #lionesses #respectwildlife #animalsreflectlife #watchoutforlions #ilovethebush 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Esther Mahlangu - Ndebele Artist

  This beautiful woman is 92-years-old and lives in a small Ndebele village in Mpumalanga. Esther Mahlangu is an Outsider Artist, self-taught from the age of nine, who has achieved great success with her bold, colorful art reflecting traditional Ndebele culture. It’s not clear, but it seems she never went to school and can only write her name on her artwork. However, she has two honorary doctorates for her contributions to the art world. Her success was serendipitous. In 1986, researchers from France were roaming around looking for traditional art forms. One road led them to the artist’s village, where they became enthralled by Mahlangu’s uniquely painted houses. Right time, right road!  They invited her to create murals for an international contemporary art exhibition at the Magiciens de la Terre in France. Her obscurity was soon over and she quickly became a phenomenon in the Pan-African art world. Her resume is awe-inspiring. Look her up, here’s one link - https://www.sahi...

The Golden Glow of the Bush

  The Golden Glow of the Bush I have seen some glorious skies during my travels around the world, from the smog-induced fluorescent sunsets in Moscow to the burning red horizon in Lake Tahoe. Looking up toward the heavens at dusk is my favorite time of day.  But, nowhere have I ever been so mesmerized by the setting sun than in the bush. Why? Because the light the fading sun casts on the landscape is like no other. Call it the golden hour or the magic hour, or the hour when a quiet hush blankets the land as day turns to night. Birds sing their bedtime songs, jackals practice their forlorn calls, and predators wake, yawning widely, preparing for the hunt. The fading light signals transformation from the brightness to darkness, from things seen to those unseen.  Lazy, sleeping lions transform from looking like cuddly stuffed animals to ferocious stalkers of anything that moves. Hunger calls them to action, stealthy and relentless in their pursuit. Owls waken, looking for bu...

Klipspringer: The Baryshnikov of the Bush

  Meet the graceful Klipspringer, the Baryshnikov of the Bush  This is an amazing animal, hardly ever seen because it is shy and camouflages itself in the African koppies - small, rocky hills in the veld. Watching this tiny antelope leap from rock to rock, all of various heights and widths is magical. Why the folks at Disney haven’t created a klipspringer character in one of its animated films is a crime.   All animals in the bush are magnificent for one reason or another, but this rock jumping dynamo of an antelope can leap up to 25 feet in the air. Their hooves are cylindrical and pointed, allowing them to spring from rock to rock on their toes, as gracefully as a ballet dancer at the Bolshoi.  The sight of a male and female leaping together from rock to rock is stunningly poetic and made me wish I had a replay button as I almost couldn’t believe that I was witnessing graceful movements on rugged and harsh terrain. When I saw my first Klipspringer, it stood ma...