by Joy Adamson
Jespah appeared to provide the moral backbone for the trio, which was probably what caused him to become the leader, even though he was less powerful than Gopa. From a very early age he had always protected his mother and since her death he had taken charge of his brother and sister. It was always he who went out to reconnoitre and see if there was danger around, and if a threat arose it was he who challenged it and recently whenever Little Elsa bolted he had run after her, comforted her and brought her back.
The cubs spent the night devouring the fresh kill. At dawn they walked off, their bellies swinging heavily from side to side. They were in perfect condition, except for some sores from chafing, and of course Jespah still had the arrowhead in his rump.
During the next two nights there was no sign of the cubs and as my injured leg still prevented me from taking long walks, George went off to search for them. He found their spoor leading across the valley towards the escarpment, where rocks offered them good shelter. We thought that they probably felt safer at a distance from the local lions, even if this meant that they had to walk two miles to get their dinner.
The following night the cubs arrived soon after our vigil had begun. They seemed unusually nervous and bolted the moment they heard a lion calling, even though he was far away. They did not return till three in the morning, then gulped their food and left. We appreciated the reason for the hurry when soon afterwards a chorus of lions started to roar quite close to us.
The next night the same thing happened, and Little Elsa was in such a state of nerves that she even bolted when we used our torches.
It rained all day and we went early to the kill. When we reached it we saw Jespah balancing on the branch from which his dinner was hanging; he was trying to get at it from above, while the other cubs, half hidden in the grass, watched him. As soon as we lowered the carcase they all rushed at the meat and spent the night gorging. By morning there was nothing left but a few bones; this meant that we must again drive outside the Serengeti and go hunting for them.
Quite close to the camp we passed the dark-maned lion and his two girlfriends. We had always supposed that lions like to pass their honeymoon in privacy and were therefore surprised to see this lion making love to one of the lionesses in the presence of the other. Not more than a mile farther on we saw a magnificent blond-maned lion sunning himself on the open plain. He paid no attention to us or to the clicking of our cameras and stretched and yawned as though we weren’t there. After that, I had hardly time to change my film before we ran into another pair of lovesick lions. They lay as close together as they could, seemed very tired, and ignored us.
The farther we drove, the more wooded and hilly the country became and the more the herds of animals increased. When we neared the border we might have been passing through a gigantic cattle sale such as the stock-rearing tribes hold on the northern frontier. Mile after mile under every tree groups of wildebeest and zebra crowded together to the limit of the shade; whilst, in the blazing sun, animals unable to find shelter wandered about aimlessly. The noise was deafening. When I closed my eyes I might have been listening to a chorus of bullfrogs, and only the high-pitched barking of the zebra reminded me that we were not in a swamp but amongst thousands upon thousands of animals assembled in preparation for their great annual migration towards Lake Victoria and the adjoining Mara reserve. We were very lucky to have arrived in the Serengeti in time to see this unique sight.
When we returned to the cubs’ feeding place with our kill, we found Jespah and Gopa doing acrobatics along the branches of the acacia tree and we saw Little Elsa hiding nearby. Suddenly Gopa listened in her direction, and began to scramble down. When he had nearly reached the ground he jumped and fell heavily; then he got to his feet, looking rather foolish, and trotted over to his sister. Jespah remained on his branch till I showed him the pie dish, then he too came down and almost toppled over in his eagerness to get at the cod-liver oil. I was glad to see that his sores were nearly healed and that a fine fluff was growing over the scars, but the wound made by the arrowhead was discharging and looked very nasty.
When it was quite dark Little Elsa came to the meat, but seemed terribly nervous, so I tried to reassure her by calling her name. Later we did our best to scare off the wild lions and hyenas but in spite of this the cubs left and did not return.
After breakfast we went off to see more of the migration. On our way we passed the mating lion and his lioness again. Although they were lying in the open and must have seen us, they allowed us to approach to within twenty-five yards of them, and were so little disturbed by our arrival that eventually the lion sired his mate, an act which lasted three minutes and ended by his giving her a gentle bite on the forehead to which she responded with a low growl. After a quarter of an hour he approached her again, but this time she dismissed him with a sweep of her paw. This was repeated three times before she permitted him to sire her again and, as before, he bit her forehead. We continued to watch them, and after about twenty minutes the lion sired her a third time, releasing her only after giving her a slight bite in the neck; after this both went to sleep. There was no sound to be heard and time seemed to stand still on this vast plain. When we started up the car, the lioness raised her head and blinked at us through half-closed eyes, but the lion never stirred.
We had been told that in the Serengeti there were many more lionesses than lions. This no doubt accounted for the unusual number of love-making pairs we saw. Lions nearly always keep a harem, and can manage a large family successfully since a lioness spends two years looking after her cubs and does not allow herself to be sired during this time. But here, the males being vastly outnumbered by females, a good many of the lions we saw looked rather thin. We thought this was partly because a lion’s honeymoon usually lasts four or five days, and during this time the couple do not eat and seldom drink, and here there were not enough lions to satisfy the demands of so many lionesses, so the lions often went hungry.
During the next three nights the cubs failed to turn up, but hungry predators were very active. In particular, the dark-maned lion and his pride remained close and were plainly not prepared to allow the cubs to take over their territory.
This made us realize that we must establish a new feeding place for the cubs – but first we had to find them.
We were told that during the season of the migration many lions simply followed the column of moving animals, since they found it easier to kill stragglers than to hunt in the usual way. All we could hope to do was to discover where the more conservative prides had established their rights and remove our cubs to another area.
We spent the next days scouring the country, but the long grass and dry ground made spooring difficult.
As for lions, we had never seen so many: we walked past a pride of five sitting on a rock, and a short distance away from them we saw a pride of seven lying on a hillock, who looked us up and down but didn’t move, even when we had to pass within four yards of them. As we went on we came upon a third pride consisting of a lioness, two small cubs, two half-grown cubs and two magnificent lions, and only a short distance away two dark-maned lions were stalking a topi up a hill; as it was getting hot and they were not very enthusiastic he got away. Later we were several times surprised to see two fully grown lions together but were told that in the Serengeti a pair of lions will sometimes remain together for many years.
We went to a small lake to watch the flamingos who were standing on its edge and noticed a hammer-headed stork pecking at its food in the shallows, close to a sleeping monitor. The lizard was rather a large specimen, about four feet long. As we were looking at it a jackal approached the monitor from behind – obviously not with the best intentions. We had been told of jackals eating puff adders, and of lions around Lake Rudolf killing crocodiles, but neither George nor I had ever seen a carnivore kill and eat a reptile. The monitor seemed completely unaware of danger until the jackal was near enough to make a bite at him, then he lashed his tail threateningly and his
attacker leapt into the air and bolted. The monitor went to sleep again, but the jackal was not to be put off so easily. He returned to the attack this time approaching the monitor from the front. He was greeted by a loud hiss, which sent him dashing off into the grass, where a lioness suddenly sat up in front of him, her two cubs peeping out to right and left of her, and the jackal nearly fell backwards in his hurry to be off. Seeing this the lioness strolled down to the water and began to drink quite close to the monitor, who waddled away very quickly. None of this disturbed the hammer-headed stork, who went on pecking industriously, completely disregarding lion, jackal and monitor.
When the cubs had been missing for six days we became anxious. We had expected them to become independent only gradually, and this sudden disappearance didn’t seem natural. We wondered whether they might share the homing instinct with cats. If so, they might now be travelling to their old homes – 400 miles if they went in a straight line; 700 if they followed the route by which they had come. That they should follow the road seemed unlikely, but we decided to investigate it and drove back thirty miles to the hill, to where we had first met the park warden. We saw no sign of the cubs. On our way we passed through vast herds of migrating animals and saw one column three miles long of Thomson’s gazelle walking in single file, advancing as if drawn by a magnet. In spite of the easy hunting, we did not think it probable that the cubs would have gone into this country, for the open plain offered no shelter and they were used to thick bush-cover. All the same, we made a careful search in the rocks and vegetation of the hill before we gave up and returned to camp.
The next morning we took a map and drew a straight line between the Serengeti and Elsa’s camp.
As soon as it left the Serengeti the line entered an area inhabited by the Masai tribe which is noted for lion hunting. Before the time of the European administration each young warrior of this tribe was obliged, in order to prove his manhood, to spear a lion, whose mane he converted into a headdress which he thereafter wore on special occasions as a proof of his courage. Lion spearing was now forbidden by the game laws but still went on secretly, so we did not think that we should count on getting news of our cubs in this area. We therefore thought of sending Makedde who, though himself a Turkana, could speak Masai, to camp among the tribesmen and see whether in casual conversation he could pick up any news of the cubs. If they had raided stock he would perhaps be able to prevent them from being speared.
On our way to the border we stopped at Seronera to call on the director. He said he was sorry that we had run into difficulties, but made it clear that we should be obliged to leave the Serengeti by the end of the month. This left us only ten days, an alarmingly short time. We passed through country where there were many lions. In one pride five lionesses were suckling eight cubs of varying ages. The cubs went from one mother to another and the lionesses showed no wish to distinguish between their cubs and others.
I planned that next morning I would drive Makedde and his kit into the Masai area and try to find a family who would take him in, while George would go on searching the valley near the camp.
As soon as we got back I packed, to be ready for an early start. Since we had so little time left, George decided to start searching the valley at once. Next morning he arrived grinning; he had found the cubs, or rather they had found him.
He had driven six miles down the valley and parked the car where the headlights could be seen over a great distance and at intervals he had flashed the spotlight to all the points of the compass.
About 9 p.m. the cubs arrived. They looked fit and were not hungry, but they were so thirsty that the brothers lapped up all the water George could give them, leaving nothing for poor Little Elsa. All were very friendly and Jespah even tried to enter George’s car. They remained there through the night, eating little of the very high meat he had brought them but amusing themselves by chasing hyenas. When, soon after dawn, they left, they went towards a little valley. George had hurried back to bring me the good news and stopped me going to the border. It was obvious that, after their experience with the Fierce Lioness at Elsa’s camp home, the cubs were scared of all the lions round the release place and had gone to find a more secluded area where they could stake out their own territory.
We decided not to move the main camp but to go every evening to the ‘cub valley’ and spend the night there in our cars. The glen they had chosen for their home was at the foot of the escarpment and above the tsetse belt; it was about a mile and a half long and two narrow ravines led into and out of it. One of these provided a particularly safe refuge. It was about half a mile long, its vertical walls were nine feet high and it was five feet wide; above it almost impenetrable vegetation provided a thick canopy which turned it into a cool shelter during the hot hours of the day.
Any approaching danger could be heard from a long way off, so, if need be, the cubs could retreat inside the ravine and up one of the sheer cliffs which broke off the escarpment. Here among overhanging rocks and dense undergrowth they would be in a strong strategic position to sight and avoid an enemy. From the top of the escarpment there was a splendid view across the vast, undulating hinterland of woods and parkland to the river, another valley through which it ran and beyond it to hills and other valleys which stretched out to the horizon. The course of the river was marked by a green belt which wound along the valley till it was lost in a haze. We thought that the cubs had found a much better home for themselves than the one we had chosen for them.
When we first arrived at their valley it was late afternoon, we took up our post under a large tree between the escarpment and the river and hoisted up the meat. One cub soon emerged from the ravine but hid in the grass. When it grew dark all three appeared and went straight to the water bowl. They were very thirsty and we had to refill the basin many times before they were satisfied. We observed that all three were in good condition, and the sores due to the chafing were healing well. The arrowhead in Jespah’s rump, however, showed no sign of coming out and though he drank his cod-liver oil from the pie dish I held out to him he would not allow me to pull at the arrow. When they had quenched their thirst the cubs went off into the darkness and did not come back for their supper until George switched off the headlights of the car. We realized they had not changed their purely nocturnal habits and in general only appeared at night and left at dawn.
36. The Ravine
As soon as we had found the cubs George sent the news to Seronera.
Later we met the director and discussed the cubs’ future with him. He suggested that we should now go away but when we argued that they were not yet able to fend for themselves and that we were worried about Jespah’s arrow wound, he agreed that we should stay on until the end of May to help them.
That evening Jespah and Gopa came from the ravine at dusk, but Little Elsa did not appear. Gopa tore greedily at the meat while Jespah went back to his sister and the two of them remained outside the range of lights until George turned them out, when they came up and joined Gopa.
Next day we went to have another look at the migration; it was a truly fantastic sight. The migrating herds spend several weeks assembling; during this time they churn up the plain and after a couple of days the three-foot-high grass is reduced to bare stalks of only about four inches. The actual move lasts only a few days and its drive and urgency is something which has to be seen to be believed.
We watched in amazement the herds advancing in tens of thousands and sometimes had the impression that it was the ground itself that was moving. The wildebeest kept in groups of ten to one hundred or walked in single file along well-trodden paths; the zebra, whenever possible, kept close to the water; these two species predominated, but there were also great herds of Thomson’s gazelles, also many smaller ones of Grant’s gazelles, kongoni and topi, and we counted one herd of two hundred eland antelopes. On the periphery of the herds were hungry jackals and hyenas watching for the chance to pick up a straggler. In whatever direction we looked the pl
ain was covered with animals whose number it was impossible to estimate.
During the cool hours they were full of energy. We were particularly amused by the behaviour of the shaggy wildebeest. The bulls chased any of their cows which strayed off, and challenged rivals to a fight, while the cows tossed their heads and kicked out with their hooves at too persistent suitors. Many times an army of them passed by, covering us with dust. I became very anxious for our cameras, so I covered them up and in consequence got no pictures. Once a herd of many hundred zebras galloped past our car, their thundering hooves stirring up a pall of dust; when they had almost passed by, through the cloud of dust I saw a lion leaping upon the last of the zebras; he missed his prey and so did a second lion who sprang a second later.
When the dust settled we saw the two lions sitting under a tree and noticed that one of them was very old and thin. We thought it possible that he was dependent for hunting on his companion who was in his prime.
That evening when we returned to the ravine we found the cubs looking very tired. Jespah was particularly lethargic and rested near my car, and whenever Little Elsa came by he licked her and later joined her when she went a little distance away and embraced her. Gopa was already at the meat but it was only after Little Elsa plucked up courage and started on her supper that Jespah came for his cod-liver oil. After this he spent the night close to my car.