Robyn Hogan

Have you cuddled a lion? Robyn Hogan has.

I’m a cat lover from way back so the hope of seeing lions in their natural habitat was a prerequisite for enjoying South Africa. But I never, in my wildest dreams, expected to actually cuddle one! Albeit a baby, but a lion, nonetheless.

It was towards the end of our trip that we came across the cub display. Before that, the lions in Kruger National Park had enchanted us. In Kruger, all animals live naturally and, often, the visitor fails to sight many when touring along the tracks. But luck was in for us. And, among the 42 species of animals and birds we saw in our three-day package, was a dozen or more lions.

In the cool of the early May mornings we found lions resting by the roadside, basking in the thin, dawn light. Some lazed on the roadway; our safari vehicle had to thread very carefully through one section where three distinct groups lounged, staring ahead enigmatically. Were they digesting the night’s kill or dreaming of the one that got away? We were told they would not harm us while ever we remained within the ‘square’ of the open-sided vehicle. Once, my camera flash went off in one huge fellow’s eyes. He blinked, shook his shaggy mane, and looked directly at me with an expression that said, ‘Do that again, girlie, and see what happens!’ I felt fear.

 They sit for an hour or more then, one by one, they rise, flick a tail as any cat does, and stroll off into the veld to sleep the day beneath the scrub.

It was three weeks later that we met with lions again. This time, we accidentally found the improbably named Sundown Ranch Lion Park — and the cubs we fell in love with.

We thought them wonderful, when first we saw them, pacing in their little pens, then the guide opened the gate, picked one up and brought it outside. Tentatively, noticing the guide’s scratched hands, we stroked it. It was two months old, the size of a huge domestic cat, and much more relaxed than we were. But our courage increased and we each took a wary turn of holding it, gradually relaxing, cuddling it in our arms. Meanwhile, the other little fellow trotted purposefully and ambitiously past us and up to the yard gate where older cubs were kept. He snarled softly when the keeper returned him to his place.

There were four bigger cubs, four and five months old, in the second enclosure. They appeared, to us, somewhat threatening, but it was with them that we really had fun. We were told to leave our bags on the outside as lions become ‘possessive’ and refuse to return objects they fancy and then we were closed in a small yard with these curious little beasts. They sized us up quickly. One eyed off a camera strap as the perfect play thing and lurched for it, wrestling with confidence. Sharp claws on the end of large, flat paws had a good hold in the webbing and only time, combined with gentle human patience and persuasion, won the game. Another latched onto my son’s genuine hide boot, growling and worrying at it and leaving it scarred forever by its brush with a lion. No wonder the eldest pair were called Bonnie and Clyde! Sometimes they broke off playing with us to prowl along the yard fence, tails flicking, or romp across to a tree stump and try, quite clumsily, to clamber onto it. Or, when we crouched down, clambered on us. Their paws are greasy, like a domestic cat’s, and left prints on our jeans which will not wash out. Not that we care much: it makes for a unique South African souvenir.

Little lions are a creamy sandstone colour with vague spots of darker colouring, particularly on legs and face, and black patches behind their ears and on the tip of their tail. And they are woolly, not sleek, to feel. Indeed, the hair is quite dense and coarse and would, it seems to me, be rather resistant to rain.

The Sundown Ranch Lion Park is at Boshoek, on the main road between Sun City and Rustenburg and is in the business of selling ‘tame’ lions. At our visit it had 45 lions all hand-reared from an early age. A sense of fun has stayed with them and several answer to their names. One male, with a half-grown mane, strolled across the grass and picked up what was apparently his favourite toy: a rubber tyre. He then proceeded to roll it and catch it and put his head through it MGM Style. Wearing it, walking crabwise, he woke his female friend and insisted she play too. She obliged in a half-hearted kind of way until he became possessive of it and she saw her chance to quit and flop under a nearby tree, yawning.

The mature lions at Sundown Ranch live in large, fenced areas, in groups of about five to ten, males and females together. The adolescents are kept separate until they are about two years of age. By then they are rather dangerous for humans to handle and large enough for older animals not to molest them. Visitors do not usually touch cubs older than six months. At this age, they are as big as a medium-sized dog but much heavier. The complex is designed so that the animals can be moved when necessary, often without sedation. They are fed weekly, mostly with half to whole beef carcases. Occasionally there is venison which is, we were told, an obvious delicacy. From time to time, poultry is thrown in as snacks and feathers blow in the breeze. Sometimes, though, when there is a meaty young child among the visitors beyond the fences, a lion will approach and drool.

They are allowed to breed naturally but, for the first two or three litters, the young females are poor mothers. Our guide was raising the only cub surviving of three born four days before our visit. The little female, about the size of a normal cat and with open eyes, lay wrapped in a rug in a box in his office. He was feeding her every two hours, taking her home with him after work. He might have been weary but he gloated as much as any proud father. In the case of mature mothers, it is the Park’s preference to leave the cubs suckling for up to three weeks before removing them from the den. They are then placed on the hand-rearing program which is believed will make them happier in captivity.

Being able to get close to the wild veld lions was a wondrous experience but cuddling the cubs has to be one of the highlights of my life. I just loved those little lions!

***