Sleeping with Lions (bucket list time!)

Cecil the lion became world famous when he was killed by a trophy hunter a few years ago so meeting his family was a special experience but little did I know I would also spend my first night with them too.

Hwange National Park is a huge expanse of untouched Africa along the north-eastern end of the Kalahari Desert and one of Africa’s largest elephant sanctuaries. Nestled at its heart is Somalisa Camp with breath-taking views of the savannah plains. Somalisa had a lovely infinity pool for guests before the elephants had other ideas and began to come to drink and splash about in the pool in the early evening. Eventually the camp bequeathed the pool to the elephants and another splash pool was built for guests in a less open location. What’s great about sharing a pool with elephants is how close they come to camp. Huge families with tiny baby calves come to splash about in the water and have some fun. I sat quietly right next to the pool as a huge herd approached and they barely noticed me in the stillness save for the click of the camera. It was an amazing experience to be so close to such magnificent animals.

This is Africa how it might have been like over 150 years ago. Hwange has more animal species than any other park in the country including enormous herds of elephants, lions, buffalo, sable, giraffe and African wild dogs.  

The Story of Cecil

Cecil the lion became world famous for all the wrong reasons. He was hunted and killed by US dentist Walter Palmer in 2015. Just a few weeks before our visit his son Xanda was also killed by hunters near the same spot on the fringes of Hwange where Cecil died. The widespread criticism of the killing of both lions drew attention to the big business of lion trophy hunting with the number tripling to 1500 a year over the last ten years. Walter Palmer paid $65,000 to hunt and kill Cecil with a bow and arrow which is primarily the reason why some landowners prefer trophy hunters to photo hunters. Only about 30,000 lions are left with the numbers being killed tripling to 1500 over the past ten years.

Our guide Calvet Nkomo knew Cecil very well and told us the real story behind this remarkable lion. Even before the notoriety of his death Cecil was famous in Hwange. People returned time and again to see him and the guides loved to tell his colourful story. He was very distinctive, a huge 13-year-old male with a long black mane. As a teenager, he was kicked out of his tribe by two brothers and unusually he befriended an older lion Jericho who became a mentor figure to Cecil. It’s virtually unheard of for two adult male lions to bond but together they successfully fought off the competition and took over their own pride.

It was very special to spend time with Cecil’s family. While Jericho the older lion lived on to help protect the pride and his seven young cubs, he was found dead by rangers under the shade of a bush in Hwange last year. The lionesses held out for as long as possible before allowing another male lion to take over, knowing that he would kill Cecil’s cubs. When they reached two years (nearly adult) the lioness agreed to let another male join them. In a bitter twist to the story of Cecil, his successor is none other than his old nemesis Bhubesi who along with his brother Bush had ousted Cecil from his pride in 2012.

Sleeping with lions

Perhaps the most memorable night of the weeks in Africa happened the first night at Somalisa Camp. We had gone out with Calvet our guide to find Cecil’s family and had spent hours videoing the cubs and lionesses and photographing the new impressive male. We returned to camp after nightfall and went to freshen up before dinner. Winter nights in the Kalahari are cold and I was so glad to see the fire lit in the tent and a hot water bottle in the bed. I wasn’t really consciously taking in much more about the tent but later I wish I had. There are no phones, Wi-Fi or mobile signals at Hwange so as usual the fog horn was provided for life and death emergencies and the whistle for more minor needs. I did remember that the staff camp was a reasonable distance away. At about 3am I was woken with the distant rumble of the lionesses calling to each other as they headed out to hunt. It’s unusual to hear them so close to camp so I sat up and took notice. Just when I was contemplating putting the lamp on an enormous roar erupted from right outside the tent. The male lion Bhubesi and a lioness had set up camp next to me, just a sheet of canvas between us. If you haven’t heard it in real life a lion’s roar is the loudest of all animals lasting more than a minute and building in intensity from low moans to ferocious roar to short harsh grunts as he settles down again. Heart hammering, I lifted the fog horn and whistle and debated which one to use. By my logic neither was the obvious answer as both would let the lions know I was right next to them. It was pitch black inside the tent and I was afraid to put on the light for fear that would also let them know that I was there.  I put the torch on my mobile and started to check the ties on the canvas flaps to check they were secure (as if a piece of rope would deter two fully grown lions). It was silent for some time and I was just settling back under the covers when the low rumbles of the lionesses called out in the distance. Thankfully, I thought, in the far distance. The huge roar that followed let me know that my new neighbours hadn’t budged. This continued until nearly 5am while I clenched the fog horn in trepidation that karma would dictate that a human life at the hands (or teeth) of Cecil’s family would be justice on behalf of lions everywhere. It was only towards daylight when a little courage returned that I thought of how amazing it might be to record the sound. By then Bhubesi and his mate had ambled off. I arrived at the camp fire for breakfast 30 minutes later about to tell my ‘shock and awe’ tale of the night but Calvet and the team were grinning broadly and congratulating me on my good fortune as though it was all part of the plan.

Even the anxious first-time safari goers we met the evening before were envious of my good fortune. So, with great bravado I told them of the amazing night I spent sleeping with the lions. An incredible once in a lifetime experience. Imagine if I had wimped out and blared the fog horn. I’d never have lived it down.

Read my full travel review for Africa here

Book your own African Adventure through Belfast-based travel specialists mahlatini.com. Definitely one for the bucket list.