Dr. Jack Wheeler
June 21, 2021
Brandon in Africa
August 1988
The Masai guide quietly stopped our Land Rover at the edge of a line of acacia trees. We cautiously stuck our heads out of the roof to watch the scene in front of us unfold.
A draw of dry grass about a hundred feet wide with another line of acacia trees on the other side. A trio of tawny lionesses crouching so deep in the grass you could barely see them. To the left, a small herd of wildebeest were warily making their way up the draw, being herded by a male lion behind them. All you could see of him was the end of his tail with a black tuft of fur sticking straight up above the grass.
The wind was right, a slight breeze wafting up the draw, so in addition to their seeing the tip of the male’s tail, the wildebeest could smell him – but not his female partners in the hunt waiting for them to get closer. A half dozen wildebeest slowly and cautiously moved ahead of the rest until they were less than 20 yards away. The lionesses charged in unison.
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