Saturday, January 28, 2012

Top 11 Moments in 2011: Number 4

Walking with Lions!



Lions are majestic and impressive creatures in and of themselves. I've seen lions at the zoo multiple times but that's nothing like seeing them in the wild. When my family was here to visit we went on a 3 day safari through the some of the main game reserves here in Botswana and at the Moremi Game Reserve we stumbled upon 3 lions (2 male and one female). It was awesome and frightening to watch them as they lay in the shade and moved around the safari vehicle. Even though seeing the lions on safari is great, getting to go on an hour walk with 18 month old lions is an even greater feeling!



When I was up in Zambia I did just this. In Zambia there is an organization that rehabs and rehabilitates lions when they are young and then releases them back into the wild. They work through the organizations called ALERT. To find out more about them you can go here. Part of the process of rehabbing and rehabilitating the lion cubs is allowing them to have human contact. This is why I got the opportunity to walk with two 18 month old male lions.



The experience was great. The lions were pretty sleepy but I got to pet both of them twice and even had one walk beside me for a portion of the walk. It was a really cool experience, but a little scary at times. They are wild animals so there was the risk the lion could have decided I was something to play with.  The whole time of the walk, we had guides and other volunteers who work closely with the lions, so it was very safe. I also had to carry a stick with me, just in case. Throughout the walk the guides told us a lot of info about lions and at one point one them lions tried to climb a tree. I'm just glad my fellow volunteers' prediction of me being most likely to be eaten by a lion, didn't come true! Now I can say I petted and walked with two lions and survived. Pretty awesome!



Be sure to check back tomorrow for moment number 3 and if you haven't already you can check out moments 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11

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