Unlike his brother the Lookout, this is a naughty boy. He never looks directly at you. He is always with his head down, letting you know he fears nothing. He is the leader of the Purunget pride. He is the first to fight, the first to eat, and will be the first to die protecting his territory and family.
"Every morning an impala wakes up knowing that it must outrun the fastest lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning a lion wakes up knowing that it must outrun the slowest impala or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a lion or an impala, when the sun comes up in Africa you must wake up running"
- anonymous, Zambia
Sunset, Maasai Mara, East Africa
Usually in the evenings, when driving through the Mara, I am stopped to check the broken bonnet on my car. But there are times, like now, I stop completely to watch the sun fall behind the horizon. Standing in the tall grass is a time to be brave, as the temperature drops and you realize night is just upon you.
Watching the sun I feel like I am standing at the edge of the earth, swallowed completely by the African sky. But that moment is so brief before darkness falls. When the darkness comes it is a new world. The tall grass hides the predators of the night. It is time to stay keen the very moment the sun slips away. Now a new adventure of darkness begins.
A morning filled with beauty and grace.
For certain I don't like change. I am a creature of habit and It has been quite hard to say goodbye to my lions (especially the Lookout) who I have lived with for over one year now. My naughty boys will be so missed. We are just 30 km away now but it seems like a country divides us. Here is the Lookout coming out to greet me, marking his territory along the way. He is a really nice lion. One of the best I have ever known.
