MASAI MARA 1°25’40.3”N 35°10’25.4”E
I could hear the other lions roaring. My brother was climbing on another lioness, and he seemed to have fun jumping up-and-down on her back. I turned to my mother, who was watching me and she gently pushed me towards the pride with her nose. Now was the time for me to find my place. It was time to meet my father, and his name is Olobor. His mane appeared to glow in the light of the low evening sun, moving with the wind. His eyes were now focused on me, and as I came closer and stood in front of him, I could see myself in his yellow and amber coloured eyes. He lowered his head and greeted me with a gentle stroke and a quiet snarl. Welcome to the pride Leeu.
documenting wildlife , lions, cheetahs, and the 500 bird species that call the Masai Mara their home opened my perspective to the world. Spending time here, meeting the Masai, people who understand their environment, people who still feel connected to the very earth we walk on and the life we are surrounded by. I witnessed lionesses introducing their little ones to the pride, the big family. And I watched the sunset and sunrise every day to remind myself why I was here. To protect, to learn, and to document and share that love. I drove through the savanna in search of wildlife and explored the rich world of the Masai Mara. It is filled with life and has a diverse and spectacular ecosystem. Large rivers, such as the Mara River, overflow their riverbanks during the rainy season – especially in April – when the rains can cause flooding. August, when I was there, is one of the driest months of the year, which means we could cross rivers and discover different places and then find our way to the astonishing abundance and diversity of wild cats. Lions live in a family group, the only truly social cat species. Often, the male lions are related and form a “coalition” and most of the lionesses are related and form the pride. Most of the female cubs stay with the group as they age and inherit the pride from their mother and aunts. Lionesses often come into season at the same time, mate with one of the coalition brothers and so have their young synchronously and then the lionesses raise them all in a creche. If a lioness has her litter at a time when the other females are not giving birth, then she will usually leave the pride and give birth and keep her cubs to herself for the first few weeks. Young cubs learn by playing; for us, this looks clumsy and cute, but for them, it is an essential learning process about survival skills they need in their new world. When cubs are introduced to the pride, all lionesses work together as one since they are all related. When one or more of the lionesses go hunting for the pride, another will take care of her cubs clean them and protect them like their own. While most of the female cubs remain in their natal pride, when the males reach two years of age they are forced out by their fathers and groups of brothers go off, grow strong and seek to establish new prides or take-over old ones.
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MOTHER VOLUME ONE
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