Satisfied Yawn

I was on a trip to Gujarat with my family and as predicted, we went to Sasan Gir, for the Wild experience. We saw a royal couple (Asiatic Lions) in morning safari and some other animals. Then in the afternoon safari, our guide was a seasoned person and when I started interacting with him, he promised me to try for a better sighting. We went on for safari at route no. 3 and a friend from forest department informed the guide that there was a family of 5 Lions who were resting after a kill in the night. Our guide asked us if we wanted to take a chance to see this family, as after the hunt they were resting in the woods and the chances to see these were bleak. We decided to take a chance and reached the spot.

There was a slope which ended in a trench and beyond the trench there was a section of dense trees. These Lions were somewhere in the woods. The forest guard on the spot told me that the family comprised of a Male, two female lions and two sub-adult cubs of about 1 year age. 

The forest guys were also controlling the wildlife enthusiasts. The topography of the place was such that it was not possible to see the family in dense tree cover. But we could clearly hear the satisfied growls & grunts which conveyed that their bellies were full and they had a good kill.

After some time all the other eager tourists left the spot as they could not see anything but I asked our guide to be patient and the forest guard allowed our vehicle to come close to their vehicle and pointed to me the carcass of the large sambhar deer lying in the trench which was killed by these lions. By now some crows were trying to get their share of the kill.

I and my daughter were holding our cameras ready just in case of some action. All of a sudden one of the cubs came running down the slope from the trees to chase the crows away, as the crows flew off, he lied down in the trench and rolled on his back and yawned. His tummy was full and he was just having a good time chasing crows. Me and Nishantika had some good clicks and My wife and younger daughter had a good view of it. Memorable Experience!

• Date

  27-09-2023