Lessons of the Mara 3: Looks can be Deceiving

We were impressed that our guide had a healthy respect for the elephants, but would drive right up to the lions. Some of the lions would wander in front of the jeeps.Some even got up and sauntered over to recline in the shade cast by the jeeps. Often you knew lions were out there because the guide knew the size of the pack, but you'd have to look very carefully. They were hidden in the grass. Occasionally there'd be a faint movement and a touch of brown, then only grass again. He said with the tall grass, cheetahs and lions could be anywhere and you wouldn't see them. It all looked so peaceful in the grass, but I was not tempted to wander.

For the most part, the lions looked lazy and gentle. They looked like giant kittens that one could go out and pet. They snoozed. They rolled over. They sprawled in the grass. It was an event when one raised its head or opened its eyes.

But don't let them fool you. They go from lazy to launch in a second. In the jeep in front of us, someone jumped to sit on the top of the van for a photo. The head came up. The body tensed and the eyes focused. All was in readiness. Then she saw there was really no food after all. The posture relaxed and it was back to snoozing.

The last day we were photoing a warthog family. They wandered across the plain, through a herd of Thompson' gazelles munching on grass. When warthogs sense danger, the tail goes straight up and off they go. But we were lucky this time. They seemed content to ignore us and eat. We got our pictures and moved forward...
Just in time to see a warthog streaking from the grass with a lion in pursuit. The warthog won, but we looked up the hill to see a dozen lions up, alert, leaning forward and watching intently. We really didn't get a good photo of the intent look.

The little Thompson's Gazelles stood guard watching. The intent looks of the lions relaxed. You could almost see them thinking. Look, we don't look like a threat, do we? They looked away. See, we're really not interested. They eyed the antelope out of the corner of their eyes. Too far to catch. Gradually they sauntered away, plopped down and snoozed again. Yes, just little harmless lions. Really. For sure. Come closer and check us out... especially if you're particularly meaty.

This video shows some of the lions. The last part is kind of iffy, but the first part is good.