Deception Valley - Mating Lions

At 15:30 every day, here at Deception Valley Lodge, High Tea is served on the deck overlooking the waterhole. Today’s offering is a vegetable slice (which I decline), and a cheesecake (which has the texture and taste more like banana bread). It is very nice.

The cake is accompanied by mango and strawberry iced tea. I'd forgotten how nice iced tea is

Crimson Breasted Shrike

Kudu

Steppe Buzzard

Lappet Faced Vulture and juvenile Bateleur Eagle

Bateleur Eagle

Lappet Faced Vulture

White Browed Sparrow-Weaver

Red Billed Francolin

Love the reflection!

Steenbok

Lions

Moscow receives a call on the radio to say one of the other cars has seen lions, and we head off to join them. The fact that there is no track where we are going doesn’t seem to be an obstacle.

We are accompanied this afternoon by Kisse (not sure of the spelling of his name), a member of the San Bushmen tribe, who will be our spotter on our game drives here in Deception Valley.

When we arrive, we see a male lion in the long grass, yawning.

We soon discover why he is feeling so tired, when he heads towards a female on heat and they start mating.

Mating amongst lions is a painful experience as the male’s penis has barbed-like projections on it. This causes immense discomfort for the female, so to stop his mate from attacking him, the male will bite gently on the female’s neck.

Female lions do not ovulate on their own, she needs the friction from the barbs to stimulate ovulation to ensure successful fertilisation.

When the lioness is in estrus, they will mate up to 100 times a day. Usually, it is the female who initiates the encounters. No wonder the male looks so tired! (the sex only lasts around 17 seconds each time, however). Because of their low fertility rate, lion couples can mate up to 3000 times in order to conceive. Besides that, a female will not be in heat for longer than a week, hence the urgency.

After copulation, the females often roll over onto their backs, which is believed to help the sperm travel better.

Even the lioness needs some pampering time

We spend the rest of the afternoon watching the antics of these big cats, following them through the bush as she constantly leads him away for more sex.

"Not again. please!"

"I need some rest!"

The female takes a rest too between bouts

And there's more

He's a handsome fellah

"Come on, I'm not done yet"

"One more time"

"Really?"

At one stage the male lion heads straight for our car, and Moscow starts the engine, ‘just in case’. The three seconds I stare into the lion's eyes as he is mere feet away from me has to be one of the most extraordinary and enduring memories from the entire trip. I am mesmerised, and frozen to the spot (to the point of not even taking photos!), acutely aware of the potential danger I am in. We have often been told not to look straight into the eyes of a predator for fear of provoking them, but I cannot tear my gaze away. For that fleeting moment, the world stops, as the connection I feel with the lion at that point leaves me in complete awe. Even as I write this, I have goose pimples on my arms and tears in my eyes.

And then he’s gone.

Sundowners

As the sun is fading, and the loving couple are heading further and further into the bush, we leave them be and head for a safe place to have our sundowners.

Kisse, Moscow, David, and me enjoying a drink in the game park

Drinks and snacks on the bonnet of the car

The sunset

Dinner in the Boma

We return to the lodge in time for dinner. The staff has laid the table in The Boma, a raised area outside next to the fire pit, where blankets have been provided against the cold air.

While undoubtedly romantic, and the epitome of traditional bush camping of years gone by, it is too dark to see what I am eating, and I find the smoke from the fire annoying.

Eggs Blantyre, a very tasty dish in crispy pastry

Beef fillet with basmati rice and pepper sauce. As expected, the beef is incredibly tender

We finish with a delicious strawberry mousse

To our amazement, a porcupine casually strolls by the fire, and later we see a honebadger drinking from the waterhole.

What a perfect way to finish an amazing day.

Many thanks to Undiscovered Destinations and their local teams for putting together this superb Great Africa Trip 2024.