I was talking to my dad the other day. He's been sharing our blog with his class, and the overwhelming response from his students was that it didn't look all that African. So, by popular demand, we headed out to a place that actually looks like Africa: the Johannesburg Lion Park http://www.lion-park.co.za/ . It's about a 1/2 hour drive from our house, just on the edge of the countryside.
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| Lion Park |
We went on a guided tour through the grassland where we saw zebras, wildebeests, bresboks, springboks (the South African national animal) and a few other species of antelopes. After stopping to observe them and get a quick lesson from our guide, our big old safari truck bounced down the potted, pitted, rutted dirt tracks to see the spotted (aka laughing) hyenas. They were one of the few animals behind fences, probably due to their reputation for both cleverness and agressiveness. They seemed just as interested in us as we are in them, trotting back and forth in front of the fence. Of course, someone felt compelled to break the rules. A woman had hopped out of her car and walked right up to the fence of the enclosure. We stopped for a minute so our guide could yell at her, and then we were off to the real business of the day, seeing the lions. The lions were NOT behind fences, they wandered at their leisure among the cars and trucks of the visitors (I gotta say, I was shocked).. The first lion camp we visited had 5 large adult males and a few females. By dumb luck, we had arrived on feeding day, which was ideal for lion viewing. Most of them were fairly still as they sat devouring horse carcasses. I was overwhelmed at the size. I don't think the TV or even the zoo effectively demonstrates the sheer size of these animals. Their paws were nearly the size of my head! The second group we visited was more like a traditional pride of lions: one adult male and a large group of females. Some of them were eating as well, but most appeared to have finished their meal and were napping in the shade of the trees. One of the ladies who had just finished her meal was cleaning her face and paws. It was kind of funny to watch this huge powerful animal behaving just like a house cat. The third group was a new lion family: a mama, a papa, and three tiny cubs (about 3 weeks). Well, even the three-week-olds weren't that tiny, they were just about Sophie-sized. We took plenty of time to ooh and aah, and then our tour was finished. We bounced and bumped our way back to the lodge where we started and sat for a few minutes to marvel at the experience we had just had. It was just incredible.
Video of a male lion having lunch:
We stopped at the lion park restaurant (the sign said "paws here for a meal") for a quick lunch, and then it was on to the second part of our adventure, "Cub World". In Cub World, the lions are in cages, including a cage with about 12 little babies (3-5 weeks) and 3 other cages with lions ranging from 2 months to almost-full-size lions. The Lion Park admission ticket is also good for one visit to the enclosure that houses 4 cubs around 3 months old. We got to pet them and take some pictures and try to plot how to steal one to take home with us. Sadly, we couldn't come up with anything :-) Cub World is also home to some cheetas, wild dogs, ostritches and giraffes. We watched a pretty vicious ostritch fight, but then we got to feed them. Then we bought a bag of giraffe feed and sat atop a tall platform waiting for Purdy and Gambit to stop by for a snack. Gambit wasn't feeling particularly sociable today, but Purdy came right up to eat right out of our hands. Her big beautiful eyes made an impression on everyone, but most of the kids were a bit frightened of her ENORMOUS purple tongue (check out the picture of it wrapped around Chris's hand). We took a few priceless pictures with her and headed back home. If (when?) you come visit, I promise, we'll definitely make a stop at the lion park. And hurry up, cuz I can't wait to go back.
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