Very nice photos.

Brothers will be brothers

Looks like a Friday night in a Sydney pub

Great photos!

I never had a brother. I had to fight with the riff raff.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
I never had a brother. I had to fight with the riff raff.

Is there a difference????

I can loan you a BIL---

And, as Robert Ruark once noted, while these two duking it out, the gal takes off with someone else. But he was talking about Impalas or some such, though sure he'd have applied it to Lions too.

It's amazing how fast these little bastards become ready to kill.



I had the joy of visiting a Cheetah petting zoo (*of sorts). They had a couple of Lion Cubs in SA that were about 3 months old, soon to be released.

Looking at these cute, cuddly little devils was really fascinating. Firstly, their skin was loose and quite soft. Second, under that skin even at their young age were the hardest sinewed muscles. Just amazing, really.

What really blew me away was how they were hardwired to kill.



Their natural instinct was to circle behind and go for the back of the neck. They did this multiple times, always trying to find a way in. Their handler was always within 10 feet of us and was getting more nervous by the minute. He told us they were only a week or two away from being too big to keep in a pen.

Notice the trickle of blood on my cheek.

I can, officially, say that I have been mauled by Lions in Africa.

The point being: I have immense respect for Lions and big cats in general. The natural instinct to hunt and kill is something to be respected and admired.

As to those two big fighters - yeah, I'm not getting in the middle of them. I'd sure love to watch them have a go though.

Many years ago, a lioness was born at our zoo, and got rejected by its mother.

The curator of the zoo and his wife brought her up.

We used to go to the zoo every Tuesday early evening, to shoot rats - the zoo was closed on Tuesdays.

So we named that little cup Mona, and she took a liking to me.

I made it a point of going there almost every day to at the curator's house.

She loved to suck my thump, but never bit me.

This continued for a few weeks.

Then I had to travel for an extended period of time.

When I got back, I asked about Mona.

I was told she was too big to keep at home, so she was kept in a separate room at the zoo.

I went there one evening, and asked if I could go see her.

I was told I was welcome to do that, but at my own risk, as she is very big, and no one knows what might happen.

I took my chance, and went into the room.

As I opened the door, got in and closed it behind me, she looked at me, went all the way to the other side of the room, then launched herself at me!

She put her arms around my neck, and proceeded to lick my face!

I think if she had any intention to hurt me, I would have had it.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

As I opened the door, got in and closed it behind me, she looked at me, went all the way to the other side of the room, then launched herself at me!

She put her arms around my neck, and proceeded to lick my face!

I think if she had any intention to hurt me, I would have had it.

That's a great story. Tell me: just for a moment there when she launched herself at you from across the room...was there just a moment of doubt?

Given she already knew you I wouldn't question she'd remember you. In my case, as a stranger in a cage with those cubs I never doubted my mortality and their claws. Human flesh is remarkably soft in so many wrong places.


(*I don't doubt for a moment the intelligence of many an animal is far greater than science gives them credit for. I've seen too many things in the wild and so many more from my own dogs to make me question that animal intelligence is greater than just the sum of an IQ quotient.)

Yes there was, but my being brave was based on my friends being with her every day.

The strength of these Young lions goes beyond comprehension. I was told by a zoo keeper at a lion park we have here in Denmark that a 3 month old cub could not be hold down by a man if truly wild.
I never had the urge for shooting lions, but reading stories from early time hunters who hunted them is facinating.

My PH had 3 lion cubs, two the same size as above and one smaller and described as "not right in the head". Where we were at was near Bela Bela RSA, not the middle of nowhere. We asked what the plan was when they got bigger. No plan! He said he would figure something out. That was three years ago, they would be big by now.

Mark

Saeed, with you going again in a month's time, a question if you please, and I suppose it is one you have been asked before. Do you keep all the skins etc. from your hunts? One in particular, the skins of the Nyasa wildebeest.

I keep quite a lot of skins, and use them around the house.

In fact, I have started keeping only skins from most of my trophies, as they come in very handy.

Originally by our host, Saeed

quote:

As I opened the door, got in and closed it behind me, she looked at me, went all the way to the other side of the room, then launched herself at me!

She put her arms around my neck, and proceeded to...

Dear God sir! I recomend no furtherance of this
"putting the Lord to the test." This event that
you lived through might have been your last,
death by cardiac arrest perhaps the most likely
cause, as the beast's claws made first contact
with your flesh!!!!!!!!!