A LION IN YOUR PATH

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22231, 23 October 1937, Page 19

A LION IN YOUR PATH

Stalking Wild Animals Without Declaration of War

"If you find lions standing or lying in the middle of the road in front of you. . . ." So begins one of the notes of advice to tourists given in the official guide to Kruger National Park, the vast South African reservation, where it is possible for visitors in their cars to observe all kinds of wild animals under natural conditions. The average man would rather do anything than meet a lion at close quarters, but in Kruger National Park such a happening is commonplace. The lions are so will fed, and so accustomed to the pre-

tively tame and to be observed at close quarters —are wildebeest and many kinds of buck and antelope, elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, monkeys, leopards, and hyenas. Imagine a tract of country like the whole of the area "between Kaikoura and Timaru and back to the mountains from Tophouse to Mount Cook, and you have some idea of the extent of Kruger National Park. Its total area is about 8000 square miles, the distance from north to south being 200 miles and the width 40 miles and more. Inside the park about 800 miles of roads have been constructed.

sence of tourists and their motorcars, that they take little notice of them. So the guide-book says: "Don't De alarmed if lions stand and stare at your car. They mean no harm, and are looking at your car and not at you. The lion's nose tells him at once that a car is not good to eat, and only smells of petrol. If you find lions in the middle of the road, it is not necessary to do more than slow down. When you get close

The best way of seeing game in the park is to drive slowly. Travelling at a speed of more than 25 miles an hour is forbidden, both to avoid undue 'disturbance of game and to prevent accidents on the roads, which are narrow and winding in places. Rest camps are established throughout the park, and visitors are not allowed to camp away from them—again in the interests of safety. Travel between sunset and sunrise is prohibited. A charge of £ 1 a car is made for admission to the park, and that entitles its passengers to sleeping accommodation in the rest camps, where they have to provide their own food. An Actual Encounter How little notice the y.ons take of cars was demonstrated recently to two visitors from Canterbury— Messrs J. J. Ormandy, of Riccarton, and H. G. Bennett, of Ashburton—during a visit to the park. Driving along between two rest camps they topped a rise and saw several cars pulled up. "A lion and his mate were heedlessly padding the road, and the people in the cars, which were travelling up in low gear, were taking stock of them. All were busy with their cameras. The lions apparently tired of these visitors breaking in on their love affair and after a while made tracks and were soon out of sight in the dense bush." The next day the party again had luck, for they turned down a deserted track, and there, walking

they will get up and move to the side out of your way." Variety of Game By giving such advice the park authorities show that meeting lions is a common experience in the park. But the game in the park is not restricted to lions, for among the animals to be seen —all compara-

straight for them, was a lioness. "We hurriedly stopped the car, and with great difficulty focused the camera (our hearts were beating like sledge-hammers). But she was not worrying about live meat, and after sniffing at this strange object (the car) padded off into the undergrowth. While we were waiting for her to go we visualised what it would be like if we had a puncture, and wondered if she would sit and watch while we changed the spare." Warning visitors that the lions are still wild is apparently necessary, for the official guide states: "Don't imagine that because the lions are passive they are therefore tame, and that you can go up and pat them. If you get out of your car in close proximity to lions you are courting trouble. Remember that a startled or frightened lion is just as dangerous as an angry one. A lioness with cubs, though she may take little notice of cars, is almost certain to attack a human being walking towards her cubs." Seeing lions would be enough for most people, who are hardly likely to want to pat them. Besides there is the brief note in the official guide: "Tourists enter the park at thei* own risk." --