Antonio winks and tells us they will mate as often as 30 times a day for a ten-day period, as part of the bonding that keeps the pride together. On a low hill nearby, a lioness nurses four young cubs. Behind a patch of high grass, another male barely opens an eye as our shutters snap madly. The next morning, a lioness tears at a fresh zebra kill, equally indifferent to our presence. It is unnerving how little attention they pay us.
Smaller predators are shyer.
A nervous cheetah trots across the plain, her one surviving cub scurrying to catch up. A black-backed jackal follows, looking for a chance to dash in and grab the cub. A herd of dainty Thomson s gazelles also follows the cheetah. They feel safer if they know where she is, Antonio explains. At a water hole, another jackal tries to snatch a dead hare from a hyena, but settles for scraps.