The Amazing Big Cats of Kruger National Park

How my love of Big Cats began

I have always loved wildlife and my favourite TV programmes from childhood were anything which featured animals. David Attenborough was not the global wildlife icon that he is today but his 1970’s BBC documentary series #Life on Earth started to change the way people viewed wild animals. Instead of creatures we would see occasionally in cages when we visited London Zoo here they were on our TV screens in our lounge every weekend. It was mesmerising. Safari parks had started opening around England. I will never forget my first trip to Windsor Safari Park in the 1980s and how amazing it was to see wild animals out in the open only a few miles from London. Poor things, coming from a tropical area and living through an English winter must have been quite a shock.

Big Cat Diary

David Attenborough had sparked my interest in wildlife but it was the 1990s BBC series #Big Cat Diary which took it to another level. Sunday evenings at 5pm were my favourite time of the week as this is when we caught on the escapades of the spectacular big cats of Kenya’s Masai Mara. The series followed a pride of lions known as the #Marsh Pride. Filmed from close up it was an amazing insight into their daily lives, struggles and the interaction between the group. I loved watching the antics of the lions and their cubs but when I saw my first Leopard #HalfTail I knew I had found my favourite creature on earth.

A Leopard’s life is very solitary #HalfTail really captured my heart . I remember the excitement I felt when she gave birth to her first litter of cubs ( Shadow was my favourite of the litter) and the devastation when Half Tail was killed after attacking Masai livestock. I cried for days and from that moment I promised myself that one day I would travel to Africa on safari and hopefully get a chance to see these majestic creatures in their natural habitat.

Searching for the big cats of Kruger National Park

On the second day of our safari we are up with the lark and ready for our 6.30am departure. Amanda explained to us yesterday that dawn and dusk are the best times to see wildlife and told us that it is best to be on the road before the park gates open and the day visitors arrive. So off we head, a little bleary eyed but with the same excitement and anticipation bubbling inside as we had yesterday.

It was worth getting up early as the sunrise over the park is spectacular. Nidhi is dreaming of her first elephant encounter and even though I know it’s less likely, I am hoping to fulfill my childhood dreams of getting a close up sighting of a Leopard or a Lion or even a Cheetah. As big cats spend much of the daytime hours sleeping in the long grass the likelihood of spotting them diminishes as the day goes on and the sun heats up but that doesn’t deter me, as I have a good feeling that we will see something amazing today.

We start today’s safari by heading to the area where we saw the giraffes yesterday and spot a heavily pregnant female which we haven’t seen before. Amanda takes a closer look through the binoculars and tells us that her calf is due any day, possibly even today. Apparently the female will move to a more protected area to give birth to provide her youngster with the best protection from predators. It makes me realise how fragile life is in the Kruger, even if you are the tallest creature around.

We stay there for a few minutes then head along the tarmac road spotting a leopard crossing a little way ahead of us. Sadly it is only a brief sighting as it is gone almost as quickly as it arrives, disappearing into the thick grass beside the road. We stop the engine and search the undergrowth for the Leopard and catch another glimpse of it walking away from us. The whole experience only lasts a few minutes but I find myself getting really emotional as even such a brief encounter with this magnificent creature is more than I could ever have dreamed of growing up.

Before we have a chance to think any more about the leopard a call comes over the radio from another guide who has come across a lion and lioness nearby. We head off, following the guide’s directions, along a dirt track to find a number of safari vehicles grouped together, full of passengers eager to see these rulers of the jungle. Apparently the lion and lioness are a mating pair. Mating lions stay together for four to five days in the same place and mate up to a hundred times a day, phew - sounds pretty exhausting!!!

We wait at the side of the road whilst each safari vehicle takes its turn to move alongside the pair who carry on mating intermittently not at all put off by their presence. Then it’s our turn to move forward and we are now so close to these two stunning big cats that we can hear the lion’s breath deep long and low. The lion gets up lazily and saunters over to the lioness and they mate again. He bites the back of the lioness’s neck and whilst we know this is just an act of nature designed to perpetuate the lion’s lineage, somehow it seems almost affectionate.

When the lion is finished he moves a few feet away and lies down by the side of the road just below our safari truck. It is amazing to be so close and we spend a few minutes there watching him chilling and relaxing completely mesmerised by such a close up encounter with this magnificent creature, truly a king of the jungle. I take some amazing photos and video footage which capture this memory which I will treasure for the rest of my life.

We move on again to allow other visitors the chance to enjoy this fantastic experience and spend the next few hours exploring more of the park. A group of elephants crosses the road in front of us to join the rest of the herd who are grazing at the roadside alongside our vehicle. Nidhi is absolutely beside herself, so happy to have encountered these giants of the jungle which she has been dreaming about seeing. The interaction between the herd is wonderful with the matriarchs keeping a watchful eye on the playful youngsters and gently nudging them back to the group when they start to wander. It is beautiful to watch. Nidhi’s excitement is contagious and her emotion spreads around our little group. We only have about 20 minutes left of today’s trip so we all agree to stay here, Amanda turns off the engine and we sit in silence sharing this wonderful experience.