Why did the lion cross the road?

The other night we were having dinner with Ezra, the guide who took us to Murchison and whose car broke down (see earlier post), leaving my brother and me standing along the road while they tried to fix it. It was hot out there, and we even wandered a little down a trail until Philip said, wisely, "I wonder what made this trail?" and we high-tailed it back to the road.

Well, at dinner Ezra said he stayed with his car for 5+ hours after we got a ride, waiting for a mechanic to come. I asked him why he didn't walk back to the head of the falls where there was some shade, and some rangers who maybe could have helped. He said, "Because once I saw a lion cross the road right there where we were ... I wasn't going to walk out there."

Hmm, I guess we know who made the trail. We have heard stories about lions; for example, the old ranger George who guided us at MF told about coming upon a lion close by and talking to him about not eating the poor old ranger. The lion finally walked on where he met 8 people, and killed and ate all of them. I asked Ezra if he believed that story and he said he did NOT believe the one about George talking to the lion, but he DID believe the lion ate the people. The locals here are very terrified of lions, and when you see them in person, how muscular and serious they are, you can tell why.

This post gives me an excuse to publish yet one more lion picture, from the last Murch trip. This lion was crossing the road to see if he could get some kob for dinner.