Our last night in Africa. We've seen some gorgeous sights, heard some amazing sounds, traveled to some humble places, caught up with some much-missed lions and friends, and have met and made some new ones along the way. At the same time we leave feeling conflicted, worn out, let down, and haunted by that nagging question: To what end?
Sunrise and sunset at Lion Encounter.
More photos of The New Cubs on the Block.
The arrival of five new cubs was a joyous time for staff and volunteers alike, but there were some questions that kept nagging at me, and continue to do so.
A few of the non- lion, elephant, and rhino photos we took at Lion Encounter and in-and-around the Mosi-oa-Tunya and Dambwa forests.
It wasn't until our last week at Lion Encounter that we were fortunate enough to finally see and study the Dambwa Pride.
This was going to be a special day at Maunga School. It was the re-launch of Kids Club, a Saturday program designed to keep children busy and engaged by providing more learning opportunities and more fun.
Four hours into our eight-hour bus ride to Vic Falls I knew I'd made a huge mistake. I could see it coming, and I only have myself to blame for such foolish actions. I knew better, I should have acted better, and now I found myself paying the price after leaving Antelope Park.
The same day we went to make some field recordings of the lions roaring, we were invited at the last minute to return to BPG for a midday lion feed. It's intense being on the other side of the fence and having a half-dozen or so 400-pound hungry male cats running full speed directly at you. An E-ticket ride if ever there was one.
While we only had one walk with Penya and Paza, and saw Lewa and Laili all but too briefly, we were able to spend both an afternoon and a morning session inside the Ngamo release site, and it certainly had to be the highlight of our working visit to Antelope Park.
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