Encounter With Lions

I don't think I can do this day justice. I think in this instance words will fail me and a camera would do a better job.

With a camera, I could zoom in on this male lion's face and you could see his yellow colored eyes with pupils so small they are almost invisible. His snout so massive and his nose so black. You could see the blood stained fur around his mouth gaping open, his breathes coming quick, cooling himself in the heat of this African day.

His open jaws expose his massive canine teeth, two inches easy in size. You would see that one is broken off and the other is flesh ripping sharp.

He has an open wound under his right eye, fresh blood still holds its place. Obvious battle wounds from trying to hold his pride. Where the strongest win the rule of territory and females. This old man can no longer compete.  He has taken up with three other elderly males.

His mane reveals his age. With a camera you would see the thick golden brown hair encompassing his face and cascading over his shoulders, turning into deep black between his front legs. The length and color both sign of age. It sashays as he walks.

This magnificent creature has walked, hunted, bred, and slept on this savannah for twelve or thirteen years. His body is lean and more scars are present. Each one is telling a story of prey fighting back, or another lion trying to take over.

With a camera you would see inside his left leg, high on the thigh, where more blood is dripping from fresh wounds but he is not bothered by this as he settles into a sitting position. He has joined the two other males around an isolated tree. He holds his head high to survey the scene, before lowering himself onto the ground for a full on, full belly nap.

One of the other males begins to stir. With intention, and without urgency, he lumber to his feet, shakes his head to shed his rest and looks straight at me. I cannot tell if he sees me, but I can see deep into this sacred animal's soul.

The king of the jungle is the title given in children's books and is said with reverence throughout the savanna.

This amazing beasts stretches and begins to move. If I reached my hand out the window, I could touch him as he passes.  But this time, I know he doesn't see me, his eyes are now beyond me. He marks a path I cannot see and moves into the sun hanging low in the late afternoon sky.

His gaze is straight but his hips move back and forth as his huge padded feet confidently lead his way.  The camera would catch the sun casting golden shimmer onto his coat and the vast, almost empty wildness around him. He moves slowly, and we follow. Visitors in his land.

He is magnificent; I stand in awe.
Awe inspiring, I cannot believe I just had this encounter.                                               The animals of my childhood dreams have come to life.