June 19: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Today we flew from Joburg to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The airport in Victoria Falls is small. Small? Very Small, no computers, nothing technological. We are no longer in 21st century South Africa. I’m pretty sure Botswana will be the same.
We were greeted and transported to the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge where we were met by the Zulu Chief. Baboons and warthogs and velvet monkeys are everywhere! In town as well as on the grounds of the Lodge. There are no fences keeping any animal out of any place. The lodge is beautiful with a stunning view and great balconies which we must close when we are not in our rooms, or when we have food in the room. The monkeys and baboons come in to eat any food you may have. So we were told, and I heard the truth of it: the guest above us began screaming shortly after we arrived because she opened some potato chips and immediately had guests…the monkeys swung onto the balcony and into her room…took her chips and all other food while she bolted out the door. I have advised Randy and the kids to keep the balcony doors closed!
We had a free afternoon, so we went to Lion Encounters, an African Impact program teamed with ALERT that is repopulating the bush with lions. Lion populations are down 80% in the last 30 years which endangers the African ecosystem. ALERT and Lion Encounters take lion cubs born into captivity and allow small numbers of visitors to interact with them (for a fairly large fee) until they are sexually mature, around 15 months.
When they are sexually mature they are moved into phase II, released in a pride into a large enclosure where they live as a wild pride. They are closely monitored for research purposes but at this stage there is no human contact or intervention. Stage 3 is when the pride is relocated to a larger area, where they will spend the rest of their lives. This area is big enough to have many different species in it, including competitive ones. For stage 4, the cubs born and raised in Stage 3 can be relocated into those areas of Africa that need them the most. We are happy to aid in that endeavor while having the experience of walking with lions in the wild. Alexandra, our cat lover, was beside herself with anticipation….lion cubs! I was expecting small cubs, or maybe a little bigger, but We WALKED WITH, and among, LIONS. 
One male and one female, not yet sexually mature….but very close! They are huge. They are beautiful beyond description. We touched them, walked in the bush with them, watched them, took photographs, and were completely inspired by them. We are all overwhelmed by the experience. Did you know that young lions have spots, and the spots disappear with sexual maturity? I never knew that until today. I cannot even begin to describe the wonder, the excitement (tinged with fear, certainly) of being close to, and walking in the bush with, these young lions….and nine rangers! Photos are worth a thousand words.
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Look at their spots!
Tonight at dinner we watched a herd of elephants make their way to the waterhole in the distance. Everywhere we have been so far has been a dream come true…the food has been excellent, the service exceptional, and we are at a lodge where animals are everywhere! Tomorrow we are off to the Falls and a cruise on the Zambezi River….hippos! Crocs!
I don’t want to burst your bubble, but they are not “repopulating the bush with lions”. It is a commercial venture. No lions have ever gone into “Phase III”. No lions raised in captivity have been successfully introduced to the wild. It wouldn’t work,
They have “released” 13 into two fenced areas where they provide some game for the lions to chase and some carcasses. There are no other predators in those areas.
Between ALERT, Lion Encounter, and Antelope Park, their records show that they currenty have 146 lions. In the 9-year period covered by their records, there have been 113 births and 76 deaths. In the wild a lion will live on average 12 to 15 years, in captivity up to 25. This rate of attrition therefore seems very high to me.
This may enlighten you :
Read this and the comments from ex-volunteers here
http://blog.africageographic.com/africa-geographic-blog/conservation/walking-with-lions-good-conservation-probably-not/
http://matadornetwork.com/change/is-zimbabwes-lion-encounter-a-misdirected-conservation-program/
Lion Encounter was charging $130 in 2012. On the day i had some clients who visited (after i had informed them that it was a purely commercial operation) in September (not peak season) they had 38 paying visitors over the morning and afternoon sessions, Some days they have more. 46 x 130 = $4940 in a day out of season. At one site. Plus add on the fees volunteers pay.
And it’s not that there are a lack of lions currently, it is that there is not enough viable space for many more lions to survive in the wild. It’s a shame people think their money is helping the lion population, it isn’t. Relocating wild populations from areas that have too many lions to areas where there are not enough and a sustainable amount of prey is far more effective and efficient. All the lions at these projects that have had human contact will never see the wild.
That is certainly disheartening to hear. We did it in 2009 in Zimbabwe. Where, and which groups, do you suggest I put my money for optimal use? Hopefully I’ve done the right thing in supporting the marine megafauna foundation. You seem to have picked any mistakes, but I hope you can see that I really care about these animals and how best to preserve them. In 2009 there were 6 of us at lion encounter.
I’m not a conservation charity expert Tam, I just do try to research causes I support. I try to avoid large scale projects as their operating costs and overheads eat up donation dollars. I also support MMF, and will be collectiong donations for it and Save The Rhino when I run the Paris marathon in April. I like Sea Sense in Tanzania too, Bite-Back (shark conservation) and a number of others you can see here: http://www.bartlettimages.com/thanks—merci.html
I haven’t given to Sea Shepherd for a couple of years, i have some issues with what I consider to be willful misinformation at best, outright lies at the worst, which is a shame, as what they strive to achieve is most worthy, just some of the methods used to try and get there are not and are damaging to their credibility. I also give to directly to people, sponsoring part of their education, and I give time, writing for conservation publications and sites like http://www.ecology.com and Beyond Blue.
I usually try to do my research as well, apparently I hadn’t checked Lion Encounters closely enough. They represented themselves as a small one of kind conservation group, so my bad. Pelagic Life is one that I support, it is run by a friend of mine, Rodrigo Friscione. They are on FB, a wonderful and enthusiastic group. We dove in Guadalupe with him and see him every summer when we visit the whale sharks. That has become too commercialized as well…too many boats, too many people. We just need to help where we can, and as often as we can. I’m doing the MMF trip to Ecuador next year, very much looking forward to it.
I have organized a Galapagos trip October 8 – 15, 2015 on the Galapagos Aggressor III with Simon Pierce and myself on board. Simon for the scientific and marine conservation input, me for photography. I haven’t had time to create the documentation or web page yet, but we have 13 spots going.
Mahonia Na Dari in Papua New Guinea was set up by friends of mine who have a dive resort and liveaboard out there.
That trip sounds great! Let me know when you have all the info!
How about project aware, ocean conservancy, pelagic life, REEF, sea shepherds, and world food program? These are all groups I try to help.