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Feeding Frenzy
by Richard Steel
One of the most amazing sights I've ever witnessed took place during a one-day African safari in the Lion and Rhino Park, which lies just outside of Johannesburg. Game seekers often go for weeks without catching site of any cats (cheetahs, lions and leopards, in wildlife-viewing lingo), so I was excited about the opportunity to see them up close. The only way to ensure tourists see these most elusive animals is to restrict the territory where they can roam, as the operators have done at Lion and Rhino Park. The various species are allotted specific areas (usually a few hundred acres) and are separated from each other by 12-foot high chain-link fences that run for miles. Cars enter at the front gate, and each is given a map and a stern warning to keep the car on the trail and the windows closed. Our experienced guides, a young black woman and her middle-aged white South African husband, informed us that the lions got "fed" at noon. So we searched for rhinos while we waited for the feeding frenzy to begin.
We immediately spotted a group of large gray dots on the horizon and headed for them. As the nearest blur came into sight, I noticed its large armored flank, wide profile and the unmistakable meter-long horn. I soon realized that I was seeing an African rhino for the first time. The sight sent shivers down my spine. The rhinos set the quintessential safari scene. A mother cow and her calf stopped grazing under the shade of an umbrella-shaped tree and raised their heads to stare us down. We stayed for nearly an hour watching these amazing beasts before we realized it was time to get in position for the lion feeding. As we drove back down the dusty trail, I craned my neck to get one last look at the great rhinos, knowing that I wouldn't witness anything like them for years to come.
Most parks are not anything like Johannesburg's Lion and Rhino Park, which essentially operates as an enormous zoo, much like the one featured in the movie, "Jurassic Park." Viewing animals in a captive setting where they're fed and segregated is much different than seeing them in the wild. The most stunning example of this came at the noontime feeding of the lions. We sat in the four-wheel drive as our guide drove right up to a pride of lions, and parked on the dry grass about 20 feet away. Offering up a surreal scene, two male lions and about eight females waited for their prepared meal. They yawned, walked and posed for the crush of camera-toting tourists surrounding them. We were so close I could hear them breathing.
Then as if on cue, the lions all stood and began trotting after a truck that sped past at about 25 miles per hour. As luck would have it, we were in position to follow the vehicle with an unobstructed view. Two men in the back of the pick-up straddled each side of a huge dead horse that lay in the bed of the truck. There was a thick chain attached to the neck of the carcass. The truck, now well ahead of the pride, pulled off the trail into a clearing about the size of a baseball infield. The two men jumped out, attached the free end of the chain to a foot-high post in the center of the field and jumped back in the truck. As the truck accelerated, the chain became taut, yanking the carcass off the back of the truck. We watched in utter fascination as the lions passed just feet from our car to reach their food.
The lionesses got to the carcass first and immediately began attacking the soft parts: the underbelly, rear and neck of the animal. It was not a pleasant sight. The blood stained the lions' faces and wet the ground, putting in stark perspective what these beautiful and powerful creatures must do to survive. I could smell the flesh as the lionesses ripped it from the bone, an acrid and earthy fetid odor.
As I was recovering from the onslaught of sight and smell, the males made their entrance. They were taller than the females, their backs easily reaching to four and a half feet high. The males strode into the clearing, which by now was surrounded by cars. The males wedged themselves into the circle, one roaring and swatting a massive clawed paw at a female who was reluctant to give up her spot. Once situated, he placed his paws in front of him, sitting like the great sphinx and plunged headfirst into the cavity left by the lioness. It was incredible witnessing the power of the cats; their muscular necks flexing as they tore into the backbone. The sinewy fibers tensed under their golden coats. We watched, snapping pictures intermittently as these 10 lions devoured every ounce of the carcass. Watching those lions provided one of life's rarely offered moments.
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