Day 2-3 Pride of Lions, Laughing Hyenas and Crocs

Still More Secrets at Selous Reserve ~

A Deck of Hippos, Pride of Lions, Laughing Hyenas & a Boat Trip

A Deck of Hippos

Hippo Teeth

We are told that these amphibious hippos are very dangerous because they have very sharp incisors used only for jaw to jaw intense mouth fighting with each other but not for feeding. Actually hippos are vegetarian using their lips to rip and eat 90-150 pounds of grass at night when they graze on pastures.  Male hippos weigh 3 tons and are second in weight only to the elephant. They mostly sleep partially submerged in the water during the day and thus have sunburned dark skin on the top of their bodies while having pink underbellies. They can go underwater for 5 minutes at a time and when our boat goes near them on the lake they race away on their stubby legs underwater. We are told the next closest thing to a hippo is a whale! Like whales these hippos seem to like to be together in groups and they rest their heads on each other’s bodies. 

They snort, bob, breach and occasionally turn over like whales and seem to be staring at us with big eyes at the top of their heads so they can see us when their bodies are mostly submerged. They have cute little ears. During our stay at Impala Camp each of us had a hippo eating just outside our cabana. On our third camp site at Beho Beho we saw many more hippos in a nearby river who also came right up to our cabins and the camp watering hole at night. Some were still there in the morning day light.

The Lion: King or Queen of the Jungle or Lazy?

Back in the Land Rover we come across a mother lion and her 3 year old baby girl sleeping under a viewing hut.  We stop “up close and personal” while Festo explains that you can tell the mother lion because she has 90% of her nose black while her younger baby’s nose is 90% pink and the spots on her belly will be gone by the time she is 4 years old. 

Mother's nose is black 

Pink nose indicates young lion

Lions live to be about 12-14 years of age.  Males leave the pride when they are 3 1/2 years of age and establish their own prides when they are 6 years of age. Festo goes on to point out that the young lion has sharp white teeth while the older lion has yellow, blunt teeth. I can’t quite believe I am looking at a lion’s mouth and face less than 10 feet away and assessing its age and dental care. Certainly these two lions don’t seem threatened by us.

Festo continues to explain that the lions have white lines under their eyes in order to increase their light perception. While lions have 8 times better vision than humans they are also color blind. This makes it easier for them to see and hunt in the dark. Since John is color blind I wonder if he can see better in the dark than me! On the other hand, cheetahs who are not color blind must hunt during the day. Furthermore we are told you can tell the identity of a specific lion by looking at the lines under each whisker.  Like human finger prints, lions have whisker prints to identify them. I am not sure I want that much closeness!

In contrast to leopards & cheetahs who are more solitary cats, lions are very social and may live in prides of 30 or more individuals. Much of the day they are inactive, resting up to 20 hours a day in the shade. Female lions must eat 4-5 kilos of meat a day while male lions need more. Female lions weight about 400 pounds while the male lion weighs 500-600 pounds. Festo implies the male lions are lazy and less organized that the lionesses that have more coordinated efforts with other female siblings and grandmothers in the pride. The lionesses are responsible for securing 70-80% of the pride’s food. Neither males or females have sustained energy for long distance running races and beyond 200 meters are likely to give up the chase. Cheetahs are faster (up to 75 miles per hour) lasting up to 500 meters in a chase.  It’s acceleration is faster than a Ferrari. 

A terrific Smithsonian video of the cheetah is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8vejjVgIHg .

Our guide talks about the importance of respecting the lions and their land. Each lion pride has their own marked territory to protect. Furthermore, he explains they are in danger of becoming extinct because of trophy hunters and poaching, infringement of space by humans and the fact that villagers are poisoning them to protect their cattle. A century ago it is estimated that there were 200,000 lions in Africa and now there are an estimated 20,000. Festo says there has been a 90% decline in lion population in the last 30 years. This is very disturbing.

Spotted, Laughing Hyenas

We spot a hyena family and are told their powerful jaws and teeth are stronger than the lion’s. These predator clans (as with lions) are also dominated by females (which are larger in size than the male ). However, both male and female hyenas are hermaphrodites with male and female genitals. They have a bad reputation because of the fact that unlike the lion who suffocates the animal first before eating, they eat the animal while it is still alive. Are lions really more compassionate? On a later safari day in Beho Beho Camp we see and hear the weird and eerie hyena’s laughter while they munch on a dead elephant and push away the vultures. Yet surprisingly almost all of our guides seem to have more respect for the hyena than the lion. Apparently hyenas are more successful predators than lions who are only successful 10% of the time they are engaged in a hunt. In contrast hyenas hunt in large clans and are capable of bringing down large herbivores such as zebras. Moreover they are scavengers and clean up the kills of lions and cheetahs. They even eat the animal bones and thus have white scat. Hmm can I learn to find hyenas with their weird bodies and ungainly gate more attractive than lions? I think about anthropomorphism and how we attribute human emotions and intentions to these nonhuman animals. I recall reading the Jungle Book and loving the black panther.

Common Waterbuck
And what about the Common Waterbuck? He doesn't look very common to me.  This large shaggy looking male antelope looks stern except for the white crescent shaped  circle on its rump. These animals also feed on grasses and herbs and occasionally on trees, especially when there is extreme drought.

Back at noon for lunch and do decompress and reflect on all we have seen.  The food is delicious and very healthy but we prefer our meals out by the lake where the animal drama unfolds in front of our eyes. 

Do you know your animal tracks?

Add caption

Disneyland Boat Trip Late Afternoon
After our afternoon siesta and a swim feeling very much like the lazy lions, we go out in two boats to see amazing birds, crocs and hippos.

We pause for awhile watching the white fronted bee-eaters who have made holes in the banks of the river. They have brilliant peacock colors and are so beautiful I think about changing my wardrobe color scheme.

Bea Eaters

 

Storks 

African Fish Eagle

Pied Kingfisher 

We pull up next to several Nile crocodiles who are asleep on the sand with their mouths open in order to cool down. I notice they have no tongue... and females have a longer nose than males. They can live up to 100 years if they are lucky. I wonder who would try to tackle these scary creatures? 

We watch a Marabou Stork with a large pendulous pink throat pouch is said to have a 60 cm wing span. Looks like it is a conductor to me. 

Marabou Stork

Great Egret

Many other birds are near the water such as Pied Kingfishers, Broad Billed Rollers, Brown hooded kingfishers and Open Billed Storks. I try to take pictures of these amazing birds and realize I won’t be able to remember their names so take a deep breath and try to be “in the moment” and enjoy them. I still feel like I am in Disneyland and hard to believe it is all real!

The Stage Closes Down for the Night

It is difficult to absorb all that we have seen on this day and what we have learned about survival of the fittest, natural selection and the eating, mating and family habits of these different animals and how they support each other in some ways. We eat on the deck with a bonfire outside and bush baby monkeys jump down on my chair scaring me. I am sure there will be many more adventures ahead of us. So fun to share our perceptions with our good friends.