How to Tree a Lion: Lessons from Samburu buffaloes

Samburu buffaloes is not the name of a rugby team but it might as well have been. The same manner in which a rugby player would charge through the opponents is the same way some three buffaloes tore through the thickets at Samburu Buffalo Springs wildlife reserve chasing after some rather alarmed male lions sometime last month.

Unfamiliar territory: Picture (c)Ewaso Lions

This story is told in the Ewaso Lions blog and it really cracked me up when I read it. I had forgoten how hilarious wildlife encounters can be: especially when the hunter becomes the hunted.

Apparently, the blogger was going on her business when all of a sudden two lions zoomed past ahead of her vehicle. In hot pursuit was a trio of huge buffaloes breathing fire and brimstone. The pair of lions, the burly buffaloes in their tail, disappeared into the thicket at the opposite side just as fast as they had come. The blogger proceeded to follow them and on rounding a corner, found one of the lions up a tree with one of the buffaloes glaring at him from below the tree. The other lion was seen disappearing in the distance with the rest of the buffalo team in pursuit. The buffalo that was keeping vigil of the treed lion got bored and headed towards where real action was.

I read in the blog that the blogger followed the action further only to discover a third lion – not any of the flying two – up a tree. Her prognosis is that the new lion must have freaked out when the commotion of the chase tumbled through the shady spot he was napping at.

Now everyone knows that lions don’t particularly fancy trees. They are clumsy climbers and generally – in human terms – lazy (especially the males).  The lions – I suspect – must have been badly shaken as to opt for a trip up the forbidden branches – judging from the pictures posted in the blog.

I have been having a bad back (probably due to slouching as I squint at my laptop for lengthy periods of time) and thus I haven’t been in so good a mood lately. But this story was just fun. I hope the original blogger will not “tree” me when she sees how I have pimped her blog post. I just couldn’t resist the temptation to tell the story my way.