This wasn’t exactly on my bucket list, but in hindsight, maybe it should have been. Having a wild, full-size male lion take a leak on your safari vehicle sounds pretty badass, doesn’t it?
Well, here’s how it happened. After an amazing few days in the Serengeti National Park, we drove down to the Ngorongoro Crater (which is also one of the coolest places we have visited in Africa). We spent the morning checking out rhinos and wildebeests before we stumbled upon this scene.
A male lion was devouring a fresh kill while the females waited patiently for the leftovers (sorry, ladies that’s how it goes in the animal kingdom). The interaction between the pride was interesting to watch as the hierarchy of the lions ate one by one without much fighting in a regimented fashion.
After the dominant male was finished, that’s when it started to get interesting for us as we watched the lions eat from the safety of our safari vehicles.
He passes the meat to the next lion in line and starts toward the driving path where our land rovers were parked. We are all hanging out of the pop-up tops and windows of our trucks as he approaches quite quickly.
I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking this lion could easily find his next snack in one of us, plucking someone from the truck as we gawk at him. Thankfully, he must have been full. He had other things on his agenda.
Alpha lion chose to continue his dominance, this time on us, literally. He non-nonchalantly marches up to the back of the Land Rover and lifts his tail over the spare tire hung from the back door, and proceeds to mark the truck as his territory.
After marking the truck as his, he shows us that he is the boss and lies down directly in front of one of the trucks. He seems to be saying, “you’re not going anywhere” to us as he sits in the shade cast by the hood of the truck.
If you are looking at taking a safari on your own, we’d recommend booking with Tour Radar and getting on an Acacia Africa operated overland.
*We would like to thank Acacia Africa for inviting as guests on such an amazing opportunity. As always, the content & opinions expressed here are entirely our own.*
Willow
Wednesday 15th of June 2022
Years ago while watching the lions being fed at the San Francisco zoo, a female was staring me down. She wouldn't shake her gaze away. I told my friend, "Why is that lion glaring at me?" The female then turned around completely, her back to us, glanced back over her shoulder at me, and proceeded to pee all over me! I had never seen a lion urinate - it was like a fire hose! I kept backing up, but the spray was strong! Finally my friend grabbed me and pulled me to the side, out of range. To this day, I wonder if she was mad at me, or really, really liked me?! 😆
Michael Muriithi
Monday 24th of October 2016
Africa is always amazing. Anybody taking a safari to Africa should be ready for any eventuality. There is always something interesting and unusual happening. This must have been a moment to relish
Dick Berry
Sunday 15th of June 2014
Great article and thats what I love about Africa....you never know what will happen so the unexpected makes the whole adventure that much more exciting!
Adam
Monday 29th of September 2014
So true you never know what will happen in Africa. Every time will be different and you will see different things. We currently are planning our trip back to Africa, can't wait!
Husam Mokhtar
Friday 6th of June 2014
Wow this lion is showing off in the middle of the road, you guys are so lucky :)
Hannah
Friday 8th of August 2014
It was crazy, never thought we would get this close to a lion!