Lion Whispering

On Saturday morning we all loaded up into a 10-seater van and headed off to Ukutula – a lion park where lions and white lions are bred in captivity.  Janette surprised us with “survival kits” containing some essentials as well as gourmet fudge, a gorgeous animal-print scarf, beautiful cosmetic bags… and more!  Except TJ, he had a little less of the girly stuff in his kit and a super abundance of Super Cs instead.

On arrival at Ukutula we checked into two chalets, a four-sleeper and a six-sleeper.

Some very cool metal artwork

Gorgeous accommodations

The indoor/outdoor dining room

We enjoyed a little lunch and then headed out on our first tour which started with a visit to the adult lions. When lions have a right genetic predisposition, there’s a 25% chance they’ll give birth to a white lion cub. Parks like Ukutula are so important as the lion population in the wild continues to decrease. Also, blood is often drawn from these healthy captive lions to research cures for TB and feline AIDS, which are both responsible for killing a lot of lions in the wild.

First stop - an adult male Kalahari lion and about six lionesses, four of which are white lions

YAAAWWNN!

Another exotic species

Up close and personal

Big cats yawn a lot!

These are the adolescent lions (typically between 1 and 2 years old) that they take out for the lion walks

Also bred at Ukutula are Bengal tigers and hyenas, among other animals.

An affectionate couple of Bengal tigers

A female hyena taking a mud bath

A caracal or rooikat with beautiful velvety black ears, pacing his enclosure

Not long after our visit with the full-grown lions we visited the lion cubs.  This group of lions were all about 4 weeks old and utterly adorable.  Although don’t let their cuteness fool you, their claws and teeth are not just for show.  Hence the knickname for this age group, the Gremlins.

Gail teasing her cub with a little chew toy

Allyse with a beautiful little lady

Simone surprised us all, handling her cub like a pro

Patrick had a curious little fella

Janette had a cuddly bunny of a lion cub - and just look at those paws!

Damon, on the other side of the lens for a change

Shelby and her cuddly cub

TJ the lion whisperer - only we didn't know it yet

Me with a gorgeous little cutie cub

TJ and I are considering adding to our collection of exotic pets

We then had some refreshments…

Some scrummy scones

… and then made our way to the Devils.  This is the 3-6 month age group of lions and aptly named! The minute I walked into their area a "naughty boy" (direct quote) called Jumanji jumped up on me and took a bite of my thigh.  Fortunately a smack on the nose is all it takes to dissuade them from their aggressive behavior, but I was a little gun shy after that.  Even though they’re little devils, it was great to watch them play with each other and chase their toys around. It was in this pen that we discovered TJ is officially a lion whisperer.

These little guys are a playful bunch

Cooperatively giving us some face time for the camera

They may look cuddly and cute, but they are already pretty strong at this age

Slowly TJ manages to get them under his spell

Enjoying some hugs

Should I be jealous?

Nursing my wounds from Jumanji, this is as close as I was willing to get to the devils

Still attempting to master tree climbing

We were ready for a cool down after all those hours of walking in the sun and then enjoyed a delicious steak dinner with a crackling fire in the background.

These photos make me wish I had been there... oh wait...

There is nothing like the night sky the further away you get from the light pollution caused by cities.  If you look closely you can see a shooting star.  Hopefully we’ll get even better skies when we get to the Pilanesburg Game Reserve.

Credit for images: Damon O'Reilly