Last week on safari we looked everywhere, high and low, in the river beds, on the koppies, along the roads and tracks, at sunrise, midday and sunset, and we didn't find a single lion.........
And we weren't alone in the fruitless search. Anxious consultations with safari colleagues from other tour companies gave zero information - we were all searching and mostly unsuccessful.
A handful of lion had been seen, but all very early morning and fleetingly.
With the hot sun and long, long grass of late summer the lion were sleeping their days away, hidden from tourist eyes, deep in the thick bush.
Looking back over 11 years of photos taken on safari in mid to late summer, it is quite obvious that even if we did find those elusive lion, they were hard to see. Unless we had incredible timing and actually found them while they were still on or next to the road.
So I thought that a good theme for this posting would be to show you what the majority of our lion sightings in the first 4 months of the year typically tend to be.
To start, here are the wonderful road/roadside sightings we can get, if incredibly lucky........
On patrol
Watching the vultures from the shade
Taking a break
We can also be very lucky if they are hanging out in an open area in the cool of an early morning or cloudy day, or close to a kill.........
But much more frequently they are only partially visible through the thick bush:-
Or the fresh green grass of mid-summer:-
The river beds can also be a good place to look for lion - open, shady and cool sand. But it's long distance viewing through binoculars or telephoto lenses..........
So, yes, it is challenging finding lion in summer, but even surrounded by grass and bushes, I can still occasionally capture a great shot!
Please note that:-
1) some of these photos I've published previously on this blog,
2) they have all been taken in the months January through to mid-April from 2009 to 2019
