Parliamentarians Visit A Pride Of Lions

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31521, 8 November 1967, Page 18

Parliamentarians Visit A Pride Of Lions

'By L. K MUNRO) During my sojourn in Queen Elizabeth National Park with the delegates of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, I was yarning with four Canadian M.P.s after dinner when suddenly a Ugandan, a warden of the park, came to speak to me. He said he had heard I was interested in seeing some lions and suggested I went out with him that night, although there was an element of danger.

We decided to make the journev in the early morning —daylight seemed safer, and we had had a tiring journey from the capital, Kampala, over winding mountain roads and at one stage our bus had become bogged in mud, But for the most part the road surfaces are good. We travelled in a utility vehicle to see the lions and before we left the highway saw as a natural part of a lush, green landscape, herds of elephants, bucks and three or four wart hogs roaming together. The wart hogs have the odd characteristic of sticking their thin tails erect into the air when they break into an ungainly run. Elephants Supreme Beside the roads in the park appear notices telling you that “Elephants have the Right of Way,” as well they should. They are so numerous that I am sure the inhabitants accept them as part of the everyday scene in the same way as we regard herds of cow’s. As late as 7 a.m. they are apt to appear outside your lodge, cleaning up the rubbish tins in the most friendly manner.

A herd of some 10 to 15 suddenly crosses the road in front of your bus which stops cautiously some 20 or 30 yards away from the huge creatures and their young, small in comparison with their seniors but big enough to dwarf a mere human. Usually a bull elephant is at the tail of the procession, but not always. If an infant is behind him, the bull looks carefully back to observe the progress of the youngster and, satisfied that the bus is respecting the right of way. ambles ahead. But once across, he waits for the tardy offspring and after safe arrival looks long and hard at the laggard. After some miles our car left the highway for the open country, and rode in comfort over the swampy and rather bumpy terrain. Here you And ant hills, water holes and scrub where the lions doze in the day-time. In the area we had entered we saw at first

The author of this article, Sir Leslie Munro, is National member of Parliament for Waipa. He visited Uganda as a member of the New Zealand delegation to a meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

buffalo, bucks (particularly the beautiful Uganda kob) and the hippopotamus. One or two of the Canadians wanted to leave the car to take their movie shots. You must stay aboard. The great animals normally respect the car, but not those who v’ish to descend from it. Our driver was careful to keep a respectful distance from hippopotamus and buff- j alo, both of them nastyminded creatures. Hippo-! potami have been known in I moments of spleen to charge I motor-vehicles and bite their mudguards. The buffalo is a | particularly dangerous and persistent animal, especially when wounded. He has an awkward habit of hiding and charging you in the rear. Of course, in the park hunting is forbidden and the lion appears to know this. Even though they have such knowledge, the hippopotami and buffalos do not allow this to diminish their malice against our species. Suddenly, after some miles, when I thought we had failed in our quest, we came to a small clearing where there was a pride of lions some fifteen of them, male and female, with their cubs. At the edge of the clearing was a dead buffalo which the pride had killed during the night. A lioness was crunching the carcase. Most of the older beasts were lying stretched out, surfeited with their banquet gazing at us carefully but lazily. Only the cubs wandered fitfully about. We stayed among them for about 20 minutes, coming as close as three feet to many of the animals. Eventually we neared the carcase, one of whose legs was still being devoured by a lioness. I expected an ominous roar, but the lioness attended calmly to her meal. We went to within about 10 yards. A cub entered the carcase for his share and only his rear end showed, plus a wagging and joyful tail. We then drove to the water hole, although at a safe distance, to watch the hippopotamus, who, when he sank into the mud, was barely distinguishable from the grey filth of sodden earth about him. Eion Routed Then we saw a rare and remarkable sight. A lion left the pride and approached the water hole, the preserve of the hippopotamus. This was too much for the hippopotamus who suddenly emerged from the mud and in a lumboring gait chased the king of beasts away. The retreat was humiliating and rapid. | Apparently a lion will never ; willingly fight a hippopotamus who, if provoked or out of some annoyance, can attain a speed of 20 to 30 miles an hour Woe betide any animal who attacks the young of

the hippopotamus Even a lion will rarely make such a dangerous assault. Finally we stopped beside a lioness who gazed steadily at us with a baleful glare She was the only lion to look maievolent The roof of the vehicle was open and two of the Canadians were standing in the opening. The lioness had only to spring two feet to kill them. 1 was relieved when we departed. About 11 a.m. another of our party visited the place of our meeting with the pride. The lions were asleep unseen in the scrub. Only a sleepy cub briefly emerged. Flies were thick on the dead buf falo and the stench was nauseating. Some of the party were nearly sick Such is jungle nature in the raw. It must be emphasised that with an expert driver and normal care there is no danger to the tourist. The exceptions to this are rare. As I conclude this article, 1 am gazing across Lake Edward at the fabled Mountains of the Moon, made famous by Rider Haggard. They culminate r the snow-capped summits of the Ruwenzoris, now wreathed in clouds. The peak kn< n as Mount Ruwenzori lifts its head 17,000 feet into the skies.