Dont run!

What do you do if you meet a cat?

Grassland Safari Lodge, Namibia 2012

We are heading for Etendeka Mountains. We are going to walk for three days with a guide in the wilderness. Before leaving, we remember the advice given previous trips, rangers and the Bradt Guide (link)

When you meet a "cat"

(We are not talking about “Garfield” but lion, leopard and cheetah)

• Don’t run
• Stop and back up slowly
• Stick together as a group
• Loud, deep confident noises are last line of defense. Shout, bang something.
• If they follow you, stop up and pretend you are not afraid (for sure you are)
• Don’t walk around at night, but if urgent, scan the surroundings for eye reflections

Never run from a big cat, it might convince the cat you are afraid and instinctively worth chasing. Also, the cat is always faster!

Lions are especially dangerous, if you come across youngsters
Grassland Safari Lodge, Namibia 2012

Lions are especially dangerous, if you come across youngsters, a large pride or mating pairs. For leopards, don´t look them directly in the eyes (perhaps also true lions, but there are lacking “double blind studies”  ;-)

Two of our encounters with big cats

In August 2012, I had an extraordinary exciting experience getting up with my daughter in the middle of the night in a camp known for its “house leopard” at Grasslands Safari Lodge Campsite in Central Kalahari. You can read the story in Danish and see pictures at this (link). In English:

“Beware of the old male leopard; it likes to climb onto the water tower”. Said the manager from Grassland Safari Lodge, who referred to the small water tower, which was in the middle of the campsite approx. 30 meters from our tent. "It´s not a problem, but you shouldn't frighten it". None of us had the slightest desire to scare an old large male leopard. The manager continued; ”Especially at night, light well with your flashlight out of the tent in all directions. If you see gleaming eyes, then do not go out, but wait. If you surprise the leopard outside your tent, stand still. You must not run under any circumstances. Slowly pull back to the car. In case of emergency, light it directly in the eyes, but then you must be able to reach the car quickly, as it is an aggressive action!”.

At 4 o'clock at night, I was awakened by a voice: "I have to pee very much". It was my daughter from the top of the Land Rover. I looked at my wife, it certainly did not look like she was about to head for the toilet building next to the water tower in the middle of the night. The duvet off – it´s freezing cold at night in Kalahari Desert in August! I use the flashlight, no gleaming leopard eyes. However, the light does not reach behind the tent and car. I leave the tent carefully shining in all directions. Still no gleaming eyes and no leopard in the toilet building as well. What a relief!

Our camp, Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana
Waking up with lions outside the tent at night!

Also, me and my wife had a scary experience at Sunday Pan in Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana waking up with lions outside the tent. You can read the story in Danish and see pictures at this (link). In English “…”

It´s 4 o'clock at night in our camp. Finally, we fell asleep after the day's hardships and after listening to all the unfamiliar sounds around the tent at nightfall. Our children sleep safely on the roof of the Land Rover, we are in a ground tent. The children talked long before they fell asleep. We feel very alone on Sunday Pan in the middle of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Just about as far out on the edge of the world as you can get. Suddenly, we are wide awake! Loud lion roar sounds only a short distance west of the tent – it sounds like there are many lions. We remember the huge Kalahari lions we've just seen in Graassland's Safari Lodge. "Did you hear it?" I ask my wife softly. "Yes" she responded.

There was no need to say more. We just lay completely still and tried to breathe without making any sounds. Good the kids didn't wake up – it would have been bad timing. The minutes pass, apparently without the lions coming closer to the tent. After an hour, I hear the lions again, now south of the tent and a little further away. I'm relieved this is the last night in Central Kalahari. This is too extreme. 

Grassland Safari Camp, Namibia 2012

Other dangerous animals

Don’t forget, the most dangerous “animal” in Africa is the mosquito (Anopheles) carrying malaria.

Talking about larger animals, its hippo and buffaloes. Let the hippos know you are there and avoid deep areas. Don’t cut hippos path of retreat. Avoid lonely old buffalo males. If the chase you, chance direction (last minute ;-) They are short-sighted. With animals that don’t climb trees, you might opt for that:

"you will be amazed which trees you can climb"

As one ranger once told us on walking safari with rhinos in Matobo National Park in Zimbabwe.

Near Ihaha Public Campsite, Botswana 2012