Ranger Gavin & Tracker Isaac had been speaking in Ranger Language (a combination of Afrikaans and a couple of the native African languages, with an occasional word in English). We knew they were tracking something, but we didn't know what (probably t - Sun 09 Aug 2009 04:13:43 PM And came across these beautiful ladies. Three lionesses, the "wives" of the male lion we'd seen the day before. - Sun 09 Aug 2009 03:47:33 PM Taking a bath in the sunshine - Sun 09 Aug 2009 03:47:35 PM P1050482 - Sun 09 Aug 2009 03:47:39 PM P1050468_DCE - In person, it was a peaceful quiet yawn. In the picture, it looks like she's roaring. - P1050471_DCE - P1050454_DCE - So tired. Lions usually sleep through the day and hunt at night. - P1050506_DCE - P1050507_DCE - P1050510_DCE - P1050511_DCE - Time to air out my lion-tummy - P1050516_DCE - Big feet. Big claws. These girls look peaceful, but they could eat me in about one bite. - P1050518_DCE - After leaving the lionesses to go look for other animals, Gavin and Isaac (our Ranger and Tracker, respectively) dropped a branch on the road where other Rangers should turn to take their tourists to the lionesses. The rangers talk to eachother constantl - Gavin broke a stick off a tree that was poking into our truck. At the sound of the snapping branch, the girl on the right hopped to attention. She looks ready to pounce! - P1050458_DCE - P1050459_DCE - P1050461_DCE - P1050463_DCE - P1050464_DCE - P1050465_DCE - P1050467_DCE - The pads on her feet are huge. Our game drive book says lion tracks are 13-14.5 cm for front paws. - This is the lady with the hair-trigger who looked like she was going to pounce earlier. After a few minutes, she settled down for a snooze. - P1050490_DCE - Aren't I pretty? Gavin said lionesses seem to be particularly photogenic. I suppose life is pretty good at the top of the food chain. - This is NOT a nervous cat! - P1050503_DCE - On one of our night game drives, we encountered the lionesses again. Since they're night hunters, it's OK for the tracker to shine the spotlight on them. - Mon 10 Aug 2009 06:02:02 PM P1050777 - Mon 10 Aug 2009 06:02:19 PM P1050787 - Mon 10 Aug 2009 06:04:45 PM P1050785 - Mon 10 Aug 2009 06:04:03 PM P1050781 - Mon 10 Aug 2009 06:03:01 PM P1050789 - Mon 10 Aug 2009 06:05:14 PM P1050793 - Mon 10 Aug 2009 06:05:52 PM
