Midnight Safari
We had been sitting on the hilltop an hour without hearing a lion roar, and we were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. One of our three guides had fallen asleep and the other two were on their fifth cigarettes. It was after midnight, and we stayed awake by gazing out at the forest lit by the full moon, listening to the sounds of frightened deer, and the sheer discomfort of sleeping on rocks. Suddenly, a series of loud growls sounded from deep in the forest, spurring our guides to race into the trees from our vantage point with us clomping through the dry leaves and undergrowth behind them. Over several kilometers, repeated growls narrowed the gap between us and the lioness. When she stopped growling, we were led by pawprints in the sand until we heard rustling in the bushes. Our guide brought us to a halt, scanned the forest with his flashlight, and two large eyes looked back at us.
The next day, we saw six more lions at close range from the relative safety of an open-top jeep. Driving through the national forest using cell phones to share where lions were found with the other jeeps felt more like a Busch Gardens theme park ride than a classic safari. Ultimately, we preferred stalking the lioness under the moonlight and meeting her on her own terms. Happily, this magnificent cat wasn’t very interested in us because a flashlight makes a poor defense.
Tags: India
Adam
aren’t zoom’s cool?
and safe?
If only we had more of a zoom than the default camera lens…