We round a bend at the bottom of our Kopjie and gape to find a lioness hot on the heels of sub adult Zebra, caught unawares the unfortunate animal barely makes a single bound before the lioness has her on the ground. Within two minutes the struggle is over.
“To witness a kill” is often on the wish list for our guests on safari but it is not box often ticked. You have to be very lucky and, despite the fact that we live here, this is the first time we’ve arrived in the right place at the right time.
It’s a raw and unsettling thing to see how efficiently this she-predator hunts, taken aback we are both somehow reluctant to lift a camera. Ten minutes later and a second female arrives, the scene until now has been completely silent and their vocalisations bring things out of slow motion. A few swipes and growls decide who gets which end.
Moments pass and a glance up from the spectacle in front of the vehicle reveals a third female making her way down from the Kopjie - her three cubs bouncing along behind her.
Nature rewards the bold, they brave the snarling mammas and get stuck in although not without getting their ears boxed once or twice - there is still a pecking order here.
Sun sets and the solar pump goes un-checked - we'll try again tomorrow.
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