August 20, 2016 - Busanga Plains in Kafue National Park, Zambia
When male lions work together, they form a coalition. These two fellas where a part of the same pride as the lioness (aka The Killing Machine) and her cubs.
When members of a coalition first meet up they rub heads together.
This is called "flehmening" which is what some animals do when they investigate a smell of interest. They can detect pheromones and sexual readiness of potential mates.
The Lion King.
I love this shot.
August 20, 2016 - Busanga Plains in Kafue National Park, Zambia
The "wakey-wakey" call is 5:15 am for those of us going up in the balloon. We are a bit delayed by The Killing Machine and her cubs--they are standing at the edge of camp, no more than 10 feet from us. Two adult males swing by as well. We'll see them in action later in the day.
Sunrise.
Water is life.
A controlled fire burn.
Hippos are hard to photograph.
August 19, 2016 - Busanga Plains in Kafue National Park, Zambia
We spend the morning stalking lions. The guides at BBC refer to one particular lioness as The Killing Machine given how consistently successful she is at hunting prey in the concession. We find her along with her two sub-adult males. The cubs remain close by and practice their hunting moves on each other while she watches the plains for weak and slow prey. We are on the verge of seeing her take a puku or a lechwe, but one young lion blows the hunt by getting to close to mom, tipping the herd off.
The Killing Machine.
Ready, set, go!
Leapin' lion.
Play.
Practicing the hunt.
Takedown!
This is how it is done.
Brothers.
Watching and waiting...
Playtime is over.
August 18, 2016 - Busanga Plains in Kafue National Park, Zambia
Newton picks us up from the airstrip and we drive 30 mins or so to Busanga Bush Camp. Along the way we see many different species of antelope, including sable, lechwe and puku.
The buggy ride with Bill as navigator. I left out the part where we swatted away the tsetse flies. Painful little buggers...
Black sable.
See those rock-like formations? Those are termite mounds. And the tree in the back is actually an island when the plains flood during the rainy season.
Puku on the move.
The first elephant (aka Ellies), but not the last. 🐘