Tree Climbing Lions

Tarangire, Touching Spirits

 

The first thing that struck me about Tarangire, in Tanzania, was that the landscape was studded with Baobab trees. They were very unmistakable in identity. Large thick trunks and branches that appeared to be uprooted from the ground, turned upside down and stuck back into the soil. To me they were an image of Africa.

I had just read The Tree Where Man Was Born, by Peter Matthiessen. It was a fascinating story of his travels in East Africa in the 1970’s. He painted vivid word pictures about the Rift Valley, its people, wildlife and cultures.  Now I found myself looking up into the foliage of one of these massive specimens.

Baobab Tree

They seemed so ancient. What stories they could tell of what has passed under their reach. Warriors, leopards, elephants and lions, they were all about life and death on the plains of Africa.

Greg, my safari guide and driver on this trip, was anxious to find lions for me to photograph. He put the Land Cruiser into gear and we moved on down the winding dirt roadway deeper into the National Park.

Giraffes in Tarangire River bed

Rounding a thicket of Blackwood we coasted down toward the Tarangire River and its flood plain. There stood three Giraffes, long necked, taller than the trees on the bank.  After starring for several moments they awkwardly danced through the mud up the bank and into the forest. I managed several exposures as the warm angled light of morning lit up their patchwork hides. I could hardly believe where I was, such a long way from the Rocky Mountains of Montana, half a world away.

Elephant at waters edge

Crossing the shallow waters of the Tarangire a small elephant was pulling wet grasses up with its trunk slinging the water up along its back then chomping on the greenery. At one point he playfully slung water at the Cruiser. I finished that roll of film in seconds.

Up and over the muddy riverbank back into the tree-line we drove slowly always on the lookout for animals. Within moments there stood a family of lions, parents and a young cub. They ignored us completely. Greg turned off the engine and we sat there watching, amazed.  It must have been a teaching thing, a schooling event for the young one.

Lioness in tree

Silently the adults slinked through the tall grass and in two seconds they scrambled up into a nearby tree out onto a broken limb. The cub squatted down at the base of the tree camouflaged by the grass. We heard nothing. Not a sound of claws grabbing at the bark, only the wind through the leaves and birds singing.

The adults were on alert, ears pealed toward the forest. Something else was out there that we could not see but they knew and zeroed in on whatever faint sounds they heard. The cub glanced at us but tried hard to concentrate on the lesson. He shifted its weight and settled in again deeper into the grass.

Slinking further out on the limb the adults also settled quietly but still watched for movement beyond the trees. Both Greg and I strained but no sight, no sound. It was a false alarm lesson.

Tree climbing lions

The lions lay across the tree-limb, their legs dangling over the sides. It was the first time they seemed to notice us thirty feet away. With shaky hands my camera clicked away. Greg was grinning. I stood in the open topped Cruiser amazed at the awesome site before me. What a scene to remember, tree climbing lions. I spoke softly, thanking the posing pride, admiring their beauty. I was so grateful to have shared these few minutes in their lives, touching spirits.

Photographs used in this entry are copyrighted by Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photos, 2009, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited without the written permission of Wayne Scherr, Range of Vision Photos.  Contact: wayne@rangeofvisionphotos.com

Related Posts:

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/tracking-lions

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/elephant-brothers

http://myphotovisions.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/safari-road