Lion charge when on foot

Early one morning we were out tracking elephants. We had not seen any elephants yet but suddenly, over some tall grass, we saw three lions in the near distance. We froze in our tracks. First one female caught sight of us and ran off. Then the second one did the same. It was then we saw the big male. Perhaps we had interrupted a mating session. He had not seen us, but got up to follow his two females. We breathed a sigh of relief and carried on walking quietly. Then one of the clients sneezed. The male lion turned around and saw us. He was about eighty metres away. He crouched down, staring at us. Then he charged. Not a full on charge, but a low, fast, calculated crawl almost.

I keep looking him right in the eye, telling everyone behind me to stand still, stay calm, and try to look big. I shouted at our armed rangers to shoot above his head. I heard nothing but I knew I could not take my eyes off the lion to look back. I pulled my shirt out and stood up as tall as I could while trying to remain calm. My nerve almost broke, but he stopped ten metres away, flicked his tale and growled. A loud clap behind me made him turn around and run off. I turned to see the rangers approaching clapping their hands on their guns. It turned out that the clients had all fled, and the rangers too. So little did I know I had been standing there on my own during the charge. Luckily the rangers had returned to help me just in time. The clients were shaken and bruised from tripping over themselves as they ran away, but certainly had a good story to tell round the fire that evening.

The author is born and brought up in Kenya. She spent most of her childhood camping. She developed a passion for wild places, and entered into a career in wildlife conservation straight after University. (samantharuss@gmail.com)