When Nelson, Patrick and Charles say they have NEVER witnessed something before (20,000 gamedrives+), it immediately gives the carat value of these two remarkable days at Kicheche Bush Camp.
Four six-week-old cubs wantonly crawling all over mum and aunt in perfect light for hours on end is special, but was very much the hors d’oeuvre.
Late one afternoon one of the lionesses shut her optics to the four youngsters and her sister wandered off into the parched river margin and picked up her week-old cub. This was not only far too young to be in the open but it was also painfully apparent that the mother cared little for this impoverished infant.
Over the next two days she was a largely stayaway mum but somehow the tiny kitten survived. Unfortunately, the larger cousins treated her like a punchbag, displaying about as much compassion as the mother.
Brutal, savage, sobering and distressing. But, as Patrick was quick to point out, these animals are fundamentally different to humans. This cub cannot survive and with this situation, interference would be wrong,
This lioness will be in oestrus almost immediately and the Enkoyanai pride will continue to flourish as will all in the Mara Conservancies.
