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Tracking a Lion Pride in Winter

There are no words to quite describe the feeling of heading out at first light on a winter’s morning in the bushveld. Crisp air brushing your cheeks, low lying mist hanging in the depressions and the glow of morning light weaving its way through the air. I look back at my guests, they are wrapped up in blankets with hot-water bottles tucked on their laps and have grins as wide as the sky.

Winter game viewing is phenomenal. The cooler days mean that the larger, charismatic cats are active for longer and the vegetative die-back means greater visibility in the bush. It is more comfortable for us too and we stay out later, like the cats. And then, there is the winter light… soft, diffused and golden, it paints the landscape, gifting us soul food and of course, spectacular photographic opportunities. But for me, the most exciting part of winter is tracking.

Tracking is different in each season, with different clues being important at different times of the year. Thick summer grass leaves subtle trails where animals have roamed, how dry a mud droplet from a nearby water pan can reveal when a rhino lumbered past and what the plethora of insects and migratory birds stories reveal... In winter however, the dry dusty earth divulges a map of clues and signs that need interpretation and intuition. Layers of tracks are time stamps for who has wandered where and when, and a combination of understanding animal behaviour and sharp observation is needed to untangle the messages.

The lion tracks are crisp, their edges clear. This is a good sign for us. A hyena track is partially laid over one set of tracks which means it is likely a hyena was trailing the pride, at what distance for now we are not sure. The tracks are heading in the direction of a known water pan, we leapfrog ahead to check if they came down to drink. Pug marks line the water's edge but the water trails have dried so there is still some distance between us. We are connected now, us to this pride, through intention and visualisation. We search their direction from the pan, and continue to follow...

Over grassy crests and through sandy drainage lines, the tracks lead us into the south eastern stretches of the reserve, a magnetism pulling us along. The pride has stopped and laid down, the scuff marks in the dirt showing where a tail has brushed and a body has stretched out. They are tiring and we’re catching up. 

My tracker Lucky and I proceed on foot through a thicket and towards a crest. As we start to emerge from the denser vegetation, a low rumble greets us. “Don’t come any closer” it says and we listen. We see a flick of a tail in the grass ahead; the gap between us and the pride has closed. We make our way back to the game viewer and drive in for our guests to enjoy a sighting of small cubs tousling over their mother and allo-grooming. It's a wonderful display of lion interaction from the only truly social cat. A successful morning track.

Tracking is an ancient practice that most of us have forgotten in modern society, yet are still tied to in the most primal way. There is something innate about the process that sparks when we are out on safari and ignites a reawakening in us, an awareness of space, detail and time. It is one of our greatest hopes - that our guests experience tracking in its truest form. We actively participate in tracking as private guides, and we ensure that we send our guests to properties with strong tracking cultures and experienced guides and trackers. Are you ready to join us on safari and track down the animals you've always dreamt of seeing? 

- Written by Andrea Fitzpatrick

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