Two nights ago the camp was full of lions but by daybreak yesterday morning they had moved into some combretum thickets near the workshop. They were very relaxed and I was able to approach quite close on foot. Unfortunately they were extremely well hidden and impossible to photograph. Last night they were out and about again and we had a few fleeting glimpses by torchlight as they moved around the camp. I counted 4 adults (1 male, 3 females) and 7 cubs. They were around at first light this morning for a short time before disappearing into even thicker vegetation.
I was very keen to find out which of the cubs has survived the rains (as I’m sure those of you who have been here and know these lions are too). I didn’t see them all at once though so difficult to tell. I think there are 4 left of the group of 5 that I last saw in December. Out of the 2 smaller cubs only 1. There was then another 2 cubs that looked about 3 months old - so new ones to me, born during the rains. Hopefully I’ll have a good sighting soon so that I can confirm this. It is really encouraging to see so many though as this pride does not have a good track record for raising cubs.
Those of you who are wondering why they are called the Hollywoods - this was a nickname given to the Lion Camp pride due to all the attention they received from a documentary film crew who were here a couple years ago. They’re also rather glamorous!
http://livingluangwa.com/2008/04/11/the-hollywoods-return/
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