Born Free Page 12

  At one place I saw an object in the water which I thought was the body of some dead animal. I went closer and was about to throw a stone at it when suddenly a head emerged and it was a hippo. Shortly afterwards there was a tremendous snorting, grunting and squealing in the bush alongside the path – a couple of rhino making love! Reached camp about 5 p.m. – still no sign of Elsa! I was really very worried, as she had never before taken so long to appear. Forty-eight hours after I arrived, at about 8.30 p.m., I heard her low call across the river and a few moments later she came racing into camp, the picture of health and terribly pleased to see me. There was nothing to suggest that she might have been with other lions. She was hungry and finished off most of the hind-quarters of the rather smelly granti I had shot on my way down. Next morning, I went and got her a pig, which she much enjoyed. In fact she ate so much that she would not move out of camp.

  On Sunday morning as we were in the studio – Elsa in deep sleep behind – I saw an eight foot croc come out of the water on to the rocks opposite. I crawled to the edge of the river and took a ciné shot and crept away to get my rifle from camp. Finally shot it through the neck. It never moved off the rocks. I sent Makedde over to tie a rope round its neck and then pulled it across. Elsa watched the proceedings with much interest, but still hadn’t spotted the croc – not until it was close into the bank. She approached it very carefully, just like the buffalo, put out a paw and tapped it on the nose cautiously, and then, satisfied it was dead, seized hold of it and brought it on to the bank, making a frightful grimace of disgust. She made no attempt to eat it, preferring the pig which by now was very high.

  I left Elsa on Monday morning; met a huge bull buffalo on one of the rain pools. The next morning went to hunt the big lion which we did not get the time Elsa’s mother was shot. He has been giving a lot of trouble and eaten twelve of Roba’s cattle during the last few weeks. Spent four nights sitting up over kills and part of the days looking along the rocky hills for his spoor. All I found was the spoor of a lioness with two cubs of about three or four months old – doubtless cousins or stepsisters of Elsa! Anyway I am not sorry the old lion did not turn up. I do not think he would be suitable for trapping, and taking to Elsa.

  Isiolo, 12 May 1959

  Well, I left on Sunday, 3rd May, and made camp about 12.30 a.m. on the 5th. There were no signs of Elsa, and the river was in high flood, higher than we ever saw it. Naturally any spoor there might have been was washed out by the rain. Let off thunderflashes and Very lights in the evening. Next morning still no Elsa. Went and shot a gerenuk for Elsa, as the granti I had brought for her was stinking. Elsa did not turn up that day, nor the next two. I could not help feeling worried, although the most likely reason was that she had gone off with wild lions. I sent Makedde and Asman to make enquiries at the African settlements, but nothing had been heard or seen of any lions. So on Saturday morning with a heavy heart I started to pack up (I had been away a week already).

  Suddenly there was a great uproar from the baboons across the river and in came Elsa dripping wet, looking as fit as ever. Her stomach was empty but she was not hungry as she turned up her nose at the gerenuk, for which I don’t blame her as it was stinking. She was the same old Elsa, full of affection and so pleased to see me. There was no indication that she had been with other lions, nor since you left has there been any sign of her being in season, but of course she may have been, in between visits. After she had settled down, I went off and got her a fresh gerenuk. At night she brought it into the little mountain tent. As you can imagine there was not much room for myself, Elsa and the buck! However, as the buck was fresh I did not mind much, in spite of the blood and muck all over me and the tent.

  Elsa has now been on her own for nearly six months. She is just as competent to look after herself as any wild lion and obviously goes off on long safaris, yet her friendliness and affection have not altered in the least degree and she is just the same as when you left. She is a wild lioness in every respect except one. And that is her extraordinary friendliness towards Europeans. I feel sure that she looks on us as some kind of lion, not to be feared and to be treated with ordinary casual friendliness. There is now no question of Elsa waiting and pining for my return. She is always very pleased to see me and obviously does not like to see me leave her, but if I were to stay away for good, I do not think it would upset her life very much.

  Isiolo, 20 May, 1959

  There is nothing more I can tell you about Elsa. I put every detail in my letters. You know when she is full of meat she will not go far from camp and just spends the days with me under the studio trees. Unless something unusual happens, it is the same routine as before you went away. Elsa is certainly more independent and goes farther afield and no longer has to rely on me for food. She is perhaps a little more suspicious of strange Africans and will not let Nuru or Makedde come too near when she is with her meat. When it comes to moving the meat, either from the tent to the studio in the morning or from the studio to the tent in the evening, I have to carry it with Elsa marching behind. Even in the little mountain tent, Elsa brings the meat into it and I just have to put up with it, or if it is too smelly, move my bed outside! Obviously she knows that when the meat is put near me it is quite safe. I feel sure that when she has cubs she will bring them along and deposit them with me to look after. When that happens I do not think it will be possible to have anyone near, apart from us. The staff will have to be left behind.

  I look forward to seeing Elsa again. She was rather pathetic when I left her the last time. I tried to sneak away unseen, but when I looked back she was standing on the edge of the salt lick watching me go away. She never made any attempt to follow. I felt like a thief stealing away.

  Isiolo, 3 July, 1959

  I have been to see Elsa again. A quarter of an hour after getting to camp, she appeared, and gave me the usual welcome. She looked fit but was very hungry, and during the night ate nearly half the Grant’s gazelle I had brought her. Early next morning she dragged the remains into the bush below camp and stayed there the whole day, paying me a few visits at the studio just to make sure I was still there. On Tuesday morning, having finished her meat, she followed me down river for half a mile. Suddenly she became very interested in the far bank, and had obviously scented something. Presently she very cautiously went upstream along the bank and crossed the river. I hid myself opposite the place she seemed so interested in and waited. I could neither see nor hear anything. Suddenly, there was a commotion and a male waterbuck burst out of the bush into the river and came straight towards me, with Elsa close on its heels. Seeing me, it tried to turn, but Elsa was on it and brought it down. There was a tremendous struggle in the water. Elsa quickly changed her grip and clamped on to its throat. Then, when its struggles had become feeble, she got it by the muzzle, enveloping the whole of the forepart of its face in her jaws, obviously with the idea of cutting off its breathing. At length, I could not stand the sight any longer and gave it a merciful bullet. The buck must have weighed a good 400 lb. With a tremendous effort Elsa dragged it halfway up the almost sheer bank, then seemed defeated. I tried to help her but could not move it. I left her and went back to camp to get Nuru and Makedde with ropes. When we returned, the buck was high and dry on top of the bank! Elsa’s strength is incredible – imagine what she could do with a mere human if she wanted? It just shows how forbearing and gentle she is with us. I left her on the 2nd, with much difficulty. She knew I was leaving, and for a long time watched me intently and would not let me out of her sight. Finally, after two hours she fell asleep and I was able to steal away.

  Prepare yourself for a tremendous welcome! In fact, I think it would be best if you did not show yourself until after she has greeted me and settled down a little.

  *

  On my return to Kenya, George pointed out that our old Land Rover was falling to pieces. I was sorry to part with it, dented and scratched though it was by Elsa’s claws. However, we bought a new model and wondered how Elsa
would react to it.

  George had arranged his local leave to coincide with my return and soon we were on our way to Elsa. When we arrived at her camp on 12th July, it was already getting dark. About twenty minutes later, while we were putting up my tent, we heard the well-known barking of baboons coming from the river; these always heralded Elsa’s arrival.

  George suggested that I should get into the truck until Elsa had used up a little of her energy in greeting him, as he was afraid that in her excitement at seeing me after such a long parting she might not be able to control her great strength and might do me some injury.

  Rather reluctantly I followed his advice and watched her welcome him, but after a few minutes I got out. Suddenly she saw me, and, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, walked quietly over from George and started rubbing her face against my knees and miaowing in her usual way. Then, with claws well tucked in, she used her 300 lb to bowl me over, after which she played in her usual friendly way without any fuss or excitement. She has filled out and grown enormously and I was glad to see that her stomach was full; owing to this it was a long time before she showed any interest in the Grant’s gazelle which George had brought. To our surprise, later, she jumped on to the roof of our new, shiny Land Rover with the same matter-of-factness with which she had greeted me, though it looked so very different from the old battered vehicle she was used to.

  For the night we decided that I would put my camp bed into my truck, in case Elsa might feel inclined to share it with me. This proved a wise precaution, for soon after the lamps were turned out she crept determinedly through the thorn fence which surrounded my boma and, standing on her hind legs, looked into the truck, and satisfied herself that I was there. However, after this she settled down next to the car till the early morning; then I heard her dragging the Grant’s gazelle carcase down to the river bank, where she guarded it until George got up and called for breakfast. Then she reappeared and was about to make a flying leap towards me; but when I called, ‘No, Elsa, no,’ she controlled herself and walked up quietly, and, while we ate, sat with one paw touching me. Then she returned to her neglected kill.

  For the next six days Elsa shared our camp routine and our morning and evening walks. One day we watched her stalk a waterbuck while he was drinking on the other side of the river. She ‘froze’ rigid in a most uncomfortable attitude till he gave her a chance to move swiftly down wind, then, crossing the river without the slightest splash, disappeared in the bush. When she returned she rubbed her head against us as if to tell us about the obvious failure of her hunt. On another occasion we surprised a large bird of prey on the body of a freshly killed dik-dik; when it left its victim we offered this little antelope to Elsa but she refused it, wrinkling up her nose in her usual grimace at anything she does not like. Another time we picnicked down river for a day’s fishing and I sat making sketches of her. As soon as I started eating my sandwiches she insisted on getting her share and tried with her big paws to snatch them from my mouth.

  At other moments she was not so gentle and we had to be on the alert to avoid her playful ambushes, for she has become so strong now that the impact of her heavy body is certainly no mutual pleasure.

  One morning she had a wonderful game in the river with a stick which George had thrown to her. She retrieved it, leapt in cabrioles around it, splashing all the water she could whip up with her tail, dropped the stick again only to have an excuse to dive for it and bring it proudly to the surface. While George was filming her near the water’s edge, she pretended not to notice him but cunningly manoeuvred herself closer and closer; then she suddenly dropped the stick and leapt on the poor fellow as if to say, ‘That’s for you, you photographer.’ When George tried to get his revenge, she hopped away and with unbelievable swiftness climbed a sloping tree trunk out of everyone’s reach. There she sat, licking her paws, looking utterly innocent.

  After this performance Elsa paid us only short visits for the next two days and became very detached. On the 23rd she did not come for our morning walk, but in the late afternoon we observed her outlined on the rock near camp and could hardly believe our eyes when we saw a whole troop of baboons within twenty yards, apparently quite unconcerned. Very reluctantly she answered our call and joined us at the foot of the rock, but soon afterwards walked away as fast as she could into the bush. We followed until it was dark. Later she came back to us and put up with my patting her but was obviously restless and uneasy and wanted to go off. All that night and the next day she was away, only coming once for a quick meal. The following day while we were talking after supper she suddenly appeared dripping wet from having crossed the river. She greeted George and me affectionately but while eating her dinner she constantly stopped to listen to something outside. By morning she was gone. This strange behaviour puzzled us. She showed no sign of being in season and we began to wonder whether we had outstayed our welcome. This was far the longest we had spent with her since her release.

  Next evening again at dinner time Elsa suddenly appeared out of the darkness and with one swish of her tail swept everything off the table; after embracing us with rather excessive affection she went off into the night, though she returned for a brief moment as if to apologize.

  Next morning the explanation for her strange behaviour was written plain in the pugmarks of a large lion. In the afternoon we saw, through our field glasses, a lot of vultures circling and went to investigate; we found the spoors of many hyenas and jackals and the pugmarks of a lion. These led towards the river where the lion had no doubt drunk and had left a large pool of blood-soaked sand. But there was no sign of Elsa’s tracks and no kill to account either for the vultures or for the blood. We spent six hours searching the surrounding area but had to return to camp without Elsa. That evening she came in very hungry and spent the night with us, but was gone by dawn.

  On the 29th we saw her on the high rock ridge and after a few minutes’ calling she joined us, purring repeatedly and affectionately, but soon returned to her rock. Now we saw that she was in season, which explained her recent behaviour. When we visited her again in the afternoon, although she replied to our calls, she would not come down and we had to climb up the rock. When it was getting dark, she got up and as if saying goodbye to us rubbed her head against me, George and the gun bearer and then walked slowly towards her lie-up. Only once did she look back at us. Next day I saw her through my field glasses resting on her rock. If she could have spoken she could hardly have told us more convincingly that she wanted to be left alone. However much affection we gave her, it was plain she needed the company of her own kind.

  We decided to break camp. As our two cars passed below her rock, she appeared on the skyline and watched us driving away.

  Our next visit to Elsa was between 18 and 23 August. She was as usual most affectionate while she was with us, but out of these five days she spent two alone in the bush and, although we did not see the spoor of a lion, she seemed to prefer solitude to sharing our life. It was of course best for her that she should become independent of our ties.

  On 29 August George was obliged to go to Elsa’s area for game control and arrived at 6 p.m. at her camp to spend the night there. He fired off two thunderflashes to attract her attention. At about 8 p.m. he heard a lion down river and let off another thunderflash. The lion continued to call throughout the night, but there was no sign of Elsa. Next morning George found the pugmarks of a young lion or lioness close to camp. He had to leave immediately afterwards but returned at 4 p.m. An hour later Elsa came across the river, looking very fit and full of affection. Although she was not hungry, she ate a little of the buck which George had brought her and then dragged the carcase into the tent. Soon after dark a lion began to call. Much to George’s surprise, she completely ignored the invitation which continued throughout most of the night.

  Early next morning she made a hearty meal and then without any show of hurry disappeared in the direction from which the lion had called. Shortly afterwards
George heard her voice and saw her sitting on a big rock and heard her making deep grunts. As soon as she spotted him, she came down and met him but, although pleased to see him, made it obvious that she wanted to be alone and after a brief head-rubbing disappeared into the bush. Guessing the direction she had taken, George followed and found her running tracks heading for the river. Presently he saw her sitting on a rock almost hidden by a bush. He watched her for some time. First she miaowed, then with a startled ‘whuff-whuff’ dashed down the rock and streaked past George into the bush. Next moment a young lion appeared, evidently in hot pursuit and not sensing George came straight towards him. When the lion was less than twenty yards away George thought it time to act and waved his arms and shouted. Startled, the beast spun round and made off the way he had come. A few seconds later Elsa reappeared, squatted nervously close to George for a few moments and then followed the lion. George withdrew and moved camp.

  Two days later he had to revisit the same area. A few hundred yards before reaching Elsa’s camp one of the men in the car saw her under a bush close to the track, apparently hiding: most unusual behaviour, for normally she would rush out to meet the car and greet everyone. Thinking the man might have mistaken a wild lioness for Elsa, George turned the car and drove back. There she was sitting under the bush. At first she made no movement; then, realizing that she had been caught out, she came forward and was courtesy itself, making a great fuss of George and pretending to be as pleased as ever at seeing him, and she condescended to eat some of the meat he had brought her. While she was eating, George walked up the track to look for spoor. He found her pugmarks together with those of another lion. Then he saw the lion himself peeping at him from behind a bush. It appeared to be the same one which he had seen with Elsa a few days earlier. Presently there was an uproar from a troop of baboons by the river, which heralded the approach of the lion. Hearing this Elsa hurriedly finished her meal and went off to find her lord and master.