National Geographic Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas Page #2

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the hyenas know each of these males by sight

and stay away

In the hills young Matsumi knows

that it's time to move her cubs.

The air around the birthplace

is saturated with the unmistakeable scent

of vulnerable new life.

Without the protection of a den

like hyenas have

the cubs must frequently be removed.

It is their first move.

Matsumi gently carries them

down to another site.

Soon she will introduce them to the pride.

As we watch, she drops

the cubs off one by one

in a shady spot she has selected

and returns for the next.

The new site is badly chosen.

An Egyptian cobra occupies

a hole under the same bushes.

The cobra is about to shed its skin.

A most dangerous time

because even the skin on its eyes

peels off blurring its vision.

The snake strikes ahead

attacking both the lioness and the cubs.

The cobra's venom has an immediate effect

on Matsumi's nervous system.

As we followed her out into the open

she deteriorated rapidly.

Behind us the cubs,

only a few weeks old, are already dead.

With her sight impaired

she can only sniff at the bodies.

The old adversaries are always watching

and waiting to slip in from the night.

At the water Matsumi quenches

the drastic thirst

that develops from a cobra bite

and listens to the nightmare behind her.

Her cubs are gone

and her own survival now hangs in the balance.

Tucked away in a distant

corner of their territory,

the rest of Matsumi's pride sees out

another hot day in typical lion fashion.

Heat steals the moisture

that all life depends on.

African bees like everything else

are desperate for sustenance.

They seek out any source of moisture.

Although well-equipped for most hazards,

lions have few defences against bees.

They are more of an irritation than a danger.

Especially to Untwydumala.

When the lions move on

the bees go in search of new victims.

Hyenas are more tolerant - or lazier.

But when the matriarch can't take it any longer

she finds a ready solution.

She buries her problem.

We stayed with Matsumi

for four long days and nights

as she struggled against the devilry

of the lingering cobra venom.

Her vision is still unfocused.

The constant salivation dehydrates her.

The ordeal has sucked her energy,

and the pain from the bite

in her back leg is obvious;

as she keeps it from touching the other one.

She is totally vulnerable.

Each day must be an agony,

each night a nighmare.

Like the lions, the hyenas patrol frequently

to guard against neighbouring clans.

Along patrol, they come across

the snake-bitten lioness.

They sense that she can't defend herself

and they circle.

She needs aggression

with what the little strength she has.

No hyena is quite willing

to risk a frontal attack.

We can state Matsumi seems like an easy target,

but suddenly and quite surprisingly,

the hyenas lose interest

and vanish into the night.

We kept up our watch on Matsumi

for another few days,

never knowing when the hyenas might return.

She lay helpless letting time heal her wounds.

Recovery from a cobra bite

is never a sure thing.

But we know she is resilient.

After a full week, the venom

has worked itself out of Matsumi's body.

She is able at least to walk once again.

Her first impulse is to investigate the site

with the confrontation with the cobra

for any sign of her cubs.

There is none. The hyenas saw to that.

As she leaves the area for the last time.

Seasons in Botswana seem to explode

into sudden change

with each rainfall or stirring wind.

A solitary lioness has a difficult time

hunting and protecting herself from hyenas.

Matsumi waits and listens

for her missing companions.

As soon as the pride is back in the area

she recognises their calls and rushes to join.

It's impossible to say just how

much of her story they can smell.

One can't help becoming caught up

in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt.

Perhaps it has something to do

with the memory of time gone by

when we the prey and

our nights were filled with darkness.

It's the time of the wildebeest again

and the tony shapes are

drawn by the need to devour.

As always,

the killers're watched from the shadows.

Quickly the hyenas identify the lions

and realize that the males are absent.

Because Matsumi is weaker, she has to struggle

to find her way into the feeding frenzy.

The noise attracts the entire Southern Clan.

As the numbers mount up, the battle begins.

Perhaps sparked by recent memories

Matsumi is the most aggressive.

The numbers are too great,

- the battle too fierce.

Hyenas are masters at exploiting chaos.

They keep Matsumi isolated

while attacking other lionesses viciously.

The lions are helpless.

From the safety of the trees

they can only watch their kill disappear.

Blood flows tonight.

This incident at least

was simply a struggle for food,

competition between the superpredators.

We chose to stay with the lions

as the prowling hyenas

melted away into the night.

By dawn the lions were

still isolated in small groups,

reluctant to venture down from the trees.

The pride begins to relax.

They seem confident

by the lifting of the darkness

and the disappearance of their enemies.

Matsumi is still shaken.

Getting up a tree is always easy,

coming down is less dignified.

The matriarch's only surviving cub,

the Princess,

is still enjoying the privilege of her birth.

During the long hours we spent around the dens

the hyenas came to ignore us totally

and played out their social games.

Social time around the den

strengthens the individual's place in the clan.

And along the long journey

from pure scavengers to hunters,

hyenas have adopted a quick

and clear identification system

that is reinforced each day.

The Pricess is being groomed

for leadership of the clan,

but she is still dependent on her mother.

Night after night these hyenas pass the hours

within earshot of the lions,

constantly aware of the others' presence,

always alert for a weakness to be used.

Two families are feuding enemies.

With each passing phase of seasonal change,

Savuti is transformed as if by magic.

Thousands of zebras migrate into the area

and the lions react immediately,

converging on any stampede.

Lions appear from everywhere,

ignoring old established boundaries,

encroaching on forbidden ground.

They are all after the same food supply.

As Matsumi leads the Central Pride in the hunt,

another pride comes running in.

They are neighbours and constant adversaries

like the hyenas.

Matsumi's pride is attacked and chased.

As they retreat, one female is separated

behind the line of attack by the intruders.

She is surrounded and seriously injured.

With only a few minutes of rest

between the attacks

the female is tormented throughout the night.

Matsumi has been waiting in the shadows,

and comes in to investigate

when the growls subside.

The injured lioness is an older female

possibly her mother.

But Matsumi can do nothing.

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