SENTINEL WATCH June 28, 2004 Issue

'Right adjusts the balance'

By Kurt Shillinger

It Was A Thrilling Moment in the African bush. As evening settled, we came upon a herd of female kudu (a spindle–legged mooselike antelope) grazing in the grass. A little farther ahead, a bull elephant browsed in a stand of trees. Around another turn, the dirt track let out onto a dry riverbed, where five lions filed toward us and brushed up against our truck as they passed. We turned the vehicle around and followed behind them.

The lions sauntered up toward the animals we'd just seen. As the lead female came near the elephant, she suddenly froze. She'd caught the scent of the kudu. As if on cue, the five cats fanned slowly into the thicket, the elephant still browsing nonchalantly to our right.

The rest happened in an instant. From the treetops a gray lourie — sometimes called a "go away" bird because of the call it makes at the sight of danger — let out its rasping cry. One kudu answered with a warning bark. The lions bolted after their prey, but their cover had been blown, and the hunt ended in a miss.