Africa

Lion Attack
Lion attacking Richard's leg

OK I admit it. I'm exaggerating rather badly here. But it did get you attention, right? We went to Tshukudu Game Reserve. They run a Lion breeding project. Their Lions are all Tuberculosis free. Lots of Lions in Kruger Park have TB so this seems like a good idea. They also breed Cheetahs and Leopards. If you get there before 16:00 they take you on a game drive around the bush and you visit their Lions and Leopards. You get very close to the Lions as you drive right into their enclosures. In the mornings you are taken on a Game Walk with a real lion. The lion is tame which doesn't necessarily mean it's not powerful or has a reduced set of teeth. We walked with a nine month old female who was full of play. At one point in the walk you are allowed to pose behind the lion to have your picture taken. When I stood behind her she figured she would have a little play with my leg. She wrapped her powerful front paws aground it and gently (for a lion) placed her teeth around my lower leg. The rangers intervened immediately and the big binoculars I had on my shoulder fell down as I bent down. They fell straight on the lions face which clearly gave her the message that chewing tourist's legs is not really the right way to behave!

Here are some of the other pictures we took at the Reserve:

Tame Cheetah Savannah at Tschukudu Game Reserve
Tame Cheetah Savannah at Tschukudu Game Reserve

Lion at Waterhole with 2 Rhinos in distance at Tschukudu Game Reserve
Lion at Waterhole with 2 Rhinos in distance at Tschukudu Game Reserve

Lion on morning walk at Tschukudu Game Reserve
Lion on morning walk at Tschukudu Game Reserve

Even though this Leopard is tame she is not trusted around children
Even though this Leopard is tame she is not trusted around children

Ranger Ian Sussens with Elephant Tambo
Ranger Ian Sussens with Elephant Tambo

I was having a nice evening braii (barbecue) with Sandra on the evening of the 12th of January in the Swadini Adventura Resort in the Lowveld when Sandra suddenly noticed a tiny snake on his way home to a crack in the bricks of our cottage. His path took him straight under her chair and she might have stepped on him had she not seen him. He wasn't very bothered by our presence and made to his hole. Shortly afterwards he emerged again from a different crack (or was this a different snake? It seemed a little thinner). He then crawled along the wall and explored a few bricks before hiding in a different crack. He was perhaps 30cm long and very thin. Perhaps 4 or 5 mm. I'm glad to be back in Johannesburg now. I've been a little to close to nature for comfort recently!

Atractaspis bibronii - Burrowing Adder
Atractaspis bibronii - Burrowing Adder

After showing this picture to the guy doing the snake show at the Lion and Rhino Park just outside Johannesburg we now believe this is a Burrowing Adder. They grow to about 2 feet and dig a lot. They have special posion teeth that allow then to strike sideways. They are poisonous and tend to come out at night or during rain.