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It was now time for us to go back to Isiolo and leave the cubs to a spell of wild life.

  On 3 December I called on the District Commissioner in whose area Elsa’s home lies. He warned me that it might become necessary to remove Elsa from her home, as the tribesmen blamed her for the stricter supervision of poaching due to our presence and used the recent killing of a woman by a tame lion in Tanganyika to stimulate ill-feeling against Elsa.

  Four days later a rumour reached us that two tribesmen had been mauled by a lion fourteen miles from Elsa’s camp. George left at once to investigate. He reached camp too late to pursue his enquiries. That evening Elsa and the cubs played happily round the tent; though they ate greedily they were in excellent condition, which was satisfactory as they had been left to themselves for seven days. As daylight broke George went to the Game Scout Post; no one had heard of any tribesman being mauled by a lion. So he sent the Scouts to the scene of the alleged accident and returned to camp.

  In order to keep the lions near to the tents he gave them a carcase which they dragged into a bush close by. They stayed there until the evening.

  When, a day later, I arrived at the camp it was dark and the men were too tired to unload the truck and put the goats I had brought into it for the night. We therefore secured them in a thorn enclosure.

  Although, as we had two cars, our arrival was noisy and Elsa must have heard us, she did not come to welcome me. This was the first time she had failed to do so.

  After I had gone to bed I heard the cubs attacking the goats’ boma. The sounds of breaking wood, growling lions and stampeding animals bleating, left no doubt as to what was happening. We rushed out but not before Elsa, Gopa and Little Elsa had each of them killed a goat. Jespah was holding one down with his paw which George was able to rescue unhurt.

  It took us two hours to round up the bolting, panic-stricken survivors of the herd and secure them in the truck, while hyenas, attracted by the noise, circled round.

  Elsa took her kill across the river. George who followed her saw a large crocodile making for Elsa and shot at but missed it. He spent until 2 a.m. sitting close to Elsa to see if it would reappear, but it did not. The cubs were very much upset at finding themselves and their kills separated from Elsa by the river; after half an hour of anxious miaowing they joined their mother without having started to eat the goats they had killed.

  In the afternoon, the Game Scouts returned; they had not got any confirmation of the rumour that tribesmen had been mauled by lions, but they had collected plenty of evidence to show that, influenced by poachers and political agitators, the tribesmen were becoming increasingly hostile to Elsa. We realized that her life was in danger and discussed what we should do.

  We had spent six months in camp, much longer than we had originally planned, in order to protect Elsa and her cubs from poachers and by doing so had inevitably interfered with their natural life. If now we stayed on the cubs would become so tame that they would have little chance of adapting themselves in the future to the life of the bush.

  Besides this, if we went on camping in the reserve we should only aggravate the antagonism of the tribesmen. Since we could not, in the circumstances, leave Elsa and the cubs alone, the only solution we could think of was to look for a new home for them and move them as soon as possible.

  Finding a suitable place for Elsa’s release had proved very difficult; to find one for her and the cubs was likely to be still more difficult. We knew that by now, with their mother’s help in teaching them to hunt and protecting them from natural foes, they were capable of living the life of the bush; but where would they be safe, not only from wild animals but also from man, who now proved to be their most dangerous enemy?

  Leaving me in charge of the camp, George returned next morning to Isiolo hoping to find a solution to this problem.

  In the afternoon I walked with Nuru to the Whuffing Rock where we had spotted Elsa. She came down at once to greet us, but when I started to climb up the saddle to join the sleeping cubs, she prevented me from doing so by sitting squarely across my path, and only after we were on our way home did she call her children. Through my field glasses I saw Jespah and Gopa climb down, but Little Elsa remained on top like a sentry.

  When it was dark the family arrived in camp and after eating their dinner, Elsa and her sons played happily in the tent until they dozed off in a close embrace. I sketched them, while Little Elsa watched us from outside the tent. In the night a lion called and for the next three days he kept close to the camp. During this time Elsa stayed in the immediate vicinity. It was only after the lion had left the neighbourhood that she ventured to take the cubs to the Big Rock and then by teatime she returned as though to ensure an early dinner undisturbed by the possible appearance of another lion.

  I usually met the family on their way to camp and was often touched by Jespah’s behaviour. When Elsa and I greeted each other he didn’t want to be left out, but I think he knew that I was scared of his claws, for he would place himself with his rear towards me and keep absolutely still as though to assure me that like this I would be quite safe from accidental scratches while I patted him. From then on he always adopted this attitude when he wanted to be stroked.

  December 20 was the cubs’ first birthday. The river had risen so much that we couldn’t cross it to look for them, so when about teatime the family turned up, wet but well, I was very happy.

  As a birthday treat I had a guinea fowl, which I cut up into four portions so that each should have a share. After gobbling these titbits Elsa hopped on to the Land Rover while the cubs tore at some meat we had prepared for them.

  As all the lions were happily occupied I called to Makedde to escort me for a walk. As soon as we set out Elsa jumped off the car and followed us; then Jespah, seeing his mother disappear, stopped his meal and ran after us, and we had not gone far before I saw Gopa and Little Elsa parallel to us chasing each other through the bush.

  As we came to the place where the track comes nearest to the Big Rock, the lions sat down and rolled in the sand. I waited for a little while and watched the setting sun turn the rock to bright red; then since Elsa looked settled, I walked back, expecting the family to spend the evening on the rock. I was surprised when she followed me. She kept close so that I could help with the tsetse flies, and Jespah trotted next to us like a well-trained child. Gopa and Little Elsa took their time; they scampered about a long way behind us and we often had to stop to wait for them.

  Elsa seemed to have come along just to join me in my walk; this was the first time she had done so since the cubs were born. I thought it a charming way of celebrating their birthday.

  When we arrived in camp Elsa flung herself on the ground inside my tent and was joined by her sons who nuzzled and embraced their mother with their paws. I sketched them until Elsa retired to the roof of the Land Rover and the cubs started to eat their dinner. When I was sure that the cubs would not observe me I went over to Elsa and stroked her and she responded very affectionately. I wanted to thank her for having shared her children with us during their first year and having shared her anxieties during the period which is so full of dangers for any young animals. But, after some time, as though to remind me that in spite of our friendship we belonged to two different worlds, a lion suddenly started roaring and after listening intently Elsa left.

  Next morning we found the spoor of a lioness upstream, but no trace of Elsa. She did not turn up that day or during the following night. On the second night we heard two lions roaring and understood why she had not come to camp. I was, therefore, astonished to see her next morning about 9 a.m. on the Whuffing Rock, roaring as hard as she could. I called to her but she paid no attention and went on roaring for an hour. To whom was she calling at this unusual time of day?

  She brought her cubs in for dinner that night but when a lion started roaring she left at once, crossing the river.

  Elsa and the cubs spent the night of 23 December in camp and after breakfast when I strolled along the r
oad to read in the sand the report on last night’s visitors, she and the cubs followed me. I called to Makedde and we all walked along together for about two miles.

  Jespah was particularly friendly, brushing against me, and even standing quite still while I removed a tick which was close to one of his eyes. We observed two jackals basking in the sun; on earlier walks I had seen them in the same place and they had never shown any fear at our approach. Now, although we were only some thirty yards from them, they did not move and it was only after Elsa made a short rush at them that they sneaked away, and the moment she turned back they peeped around the bushes, seemingly quite unalarmed.

  We went on until we came to a rain pool where the lions had a drink. By now the sun was getting hot and it would not have surprised me had Elsa decided to spend the day in this place, but good-naturedly she turned back when we did and trotted slowly home with us.

  I could not help feeling as though we were all taking our Sunday family walk. Though in fact this was the morning of Christmas Eve, and Elsa could have no knowledge of special days, by a strange coincidence she had chosen a day I felt the need to commemorate by coming for a walk with me and bringing her family with her.

  When we reached the place where we had seen the jackals we found them still there and as the lions were too lazy for a game, the jackals did not even bother to get up as we passed.

  Elsa and the cubs were feeling the increasing heat very much and often stopped under the shade of a tree to rest, yet when we came near the Big Rock they suddenly rushed at full speed through the bush and in a few leaps reached the top, where they settled among the boulders. I scrambled after them as best I could, but Elsa made it quite plain that I should now leave them alone. She always knew exactly how much she felt it was fitting for her to give to each of her two worlds, so I confined myself to taking some photographs of her guarding her cubs.

  George arrived about teatime with a suitcase full of mail. While we strolled about picking flowers for Christmas decorations, he told me of the enquiries he had made about finding a new home for Elsa and the cubs. He thought that the Lake Rudolf area would be the place in which the lions would be safest from human interference. He had obtained permission from the authorities to take them there if the need arose, and was soon going to reconnoitre the region to find a suitable spot.

  This part of Kenya is very grim and conditions are tough there, so I felt depressed at the prospect. To make matters worse Elsa chose this moment to join us on our way home; behind her the cubs were playing happily along the road, and I could not bear to visualize them roaming on the wind-swept, lava-strewn desert which surrounds the lake.

  After we reached camp we gave the family their supper which kept them occupied while I arranged the table for our Christmas dinner. I decorated it with flowers and tinsel ornaments and put the little silver Christmas tree I had kept from last year in the middle and a still smaller one which had just arrived from London in front of it. Then I brought out the presents for George and the boys.

  Jespah watched my preparations very carefully and the moment I turned my back to get the candles he rushed up and seized a parcel which contained a shirt for George, and bounced off with it into a thicket. Gopa joined him immediately and the two of them had a wonderful time with the shirt. When at last we rescued it it was in no state to give to George.

  By now it was nearly dark and I started to light the candles. That was all Jespah needed to make him decide to come and help me. I only just managed to prevent him from pulling the tablecloth, with the decorations and burning candles, on top of himself. It needed a lot of coaxing to make him keep away so that I could light the rest of the candles.

  When all was ready he came up, tilted his head, looked at the glittering Christmas trees and then sat down and watched the candles burn lower and lower. As each flame went out I felt as though another happy day of our life in the camp had passed. When all the lights had gone out the darkness seemed intense and as though it were a symbol of the darkness of our future. A few yards away Elsa and her cubs rested peacefully in the grass, hardly visible in the fading light.

  Afterwards George and I read our mail. It took us many hours to do so, during which our imaginations travelled across the world and brought us close to all the people who were wishing Elsa and her family and us happiness.

  Mercifully it was one of the last envelopes I opened which contained an order from the African District Council for the removal of Elsa and her cubs from the reserve.

  PART THREE

  23. The Deportation Order

  The reason given by the council was that since Elsa was used to our company she might become a danger to other people.

  We were amazed; the local authorities themselves had helped us to choose the area for her release, and up to now had regarded her as a great asset to the reserve.

  Now, with the arrival of the deportation order, all we could do was to try to make this removal as little harmful to the lions as possible and find a satisfactory new home for them.

  We wrote to friends in Tanganyika, Uganda, the Rhodesias and South Africa, enquiring what the chances were of finding a good territory for the family in their countries but, before finally deciding to remove Elsa and her family from Kenya, George wished to carry out a reconnaissance along the eastern shores of Lake Rudolf in the north of Kenya.

  I was distressed by this plan. The country there is very grim, and I feared that game around the lake might be so scarce that Elsa and the cubs would become dependent upon us for their food supply. Besides this, the area is so remote that in case of an emergency we should be very lucky if we were able to get any help.

  To make the removal we would first build a ramp and then place a five-ton lorry against it so that its floor was level with the top of the ramp; in the lorry we would place the lions’ dinner. Once the cubs had got used to their new feeding place we could build a strong wire enclosure over the lorry and make a trapdoor to it, which we would close when the cubs were feeding, thus converting the lorry into a travelling crate.

  We dug the ramp at the salt lick near the studio. My heart was heavy as I watched the cubs; they were excited by the unusual activities taking place on their playground, sniffed the freshly dug soil curiously, found it great fun to roll on the loose earth, and seemed to think that all this work was being done to amuse them.

  On 28 December George started off on the recce to Lake Rudolf. That afternoon I met the family near the river, and after the usual friendly greetings from Elsa and Jespah, we went together to the water’s edge. The cubs plunged in at once, ducking and chasing each other; Elsa and I watched them from the bank. While they were in the river she guarded them in a dignified manner, but when they emerged dripping wet she joined in their games and helped them to look for a new playground. A nearby tree provided what was needed; the cubs struggled up its trunk but were soon overtaken by their mother, who in a few swift movements leapt high above them. I gasped as she went higher and higher, the slender upper branches bending alarmingly beneath her weight, finally she reached the crown of the tree. What, I wondered, was she doing? Teaching her children the proper way to climb trees, or just showing off? When she found that the boughs were no longer strong enough to support her, she turned with great difficulty and, cautiously testing each branch, began her descent. She managed to make her way down but her landing was by no means dignified, then, as though to suggest that the tumble was a joke, she at once began to jump around the cubs. They chased her, and all the way home played games of hide-and-seek or ambushes, in which I was often the victim.

  Next day, at teatime, Elsa showed me very clearly what a wonderful mother and companion she was to her cubs. The family appeared on the far bank of the river opposite the studio. I had seen a six-foot crocodile slither into the river at their approach and was therefore not surprised when the cubs paced nervously up and down the rocky platform by the river’s edge, obviously frightened to jump into the deep pool beneath.

  Elsa l
icked each in turn, then they all plunged in together and swam safely across in close formation. When the cubs relaxed and began to chase each other so as to get dry, Elsa joined in. She took Jespah’s tail in her mouth and walked round in circles with him, obviously enjoying the clowning as much as he did.

  Eventually Jespah sat down close to me, turning his back to me. This he did when he wanted to be petted; he seemed to realize that I was always a little afraid of being accidentally scratched by him because, unlike his mother, he had not learnt to retract his claws when playing with human beings.

  When I went for an afternoon stroll, the lions joined me; I welcomed this new habit of a family walk; it gave me a chance to observe the cubs’ reactions to everything we met on our way and also allowed me to spend more time with Elsa, of whose company I had been to a considerable extent deprived since the birth of the cubs. When we reached the Big Rock, Gopa and Little Elsa stayed behind; I tried to induce them to follow us but they would not. Elsa walked along as if she knew that no harm would come to them. She had lately kept her children on a longer leash and did not seem to worry when they showed independence. Jespah, however, was plainly very anxious; he ran backwards and forwards between us and only eventually and with reluctance decided to follow his mother and me.

  We walked for about two miles; when it grew cooler, Elsa and Jespah began to play; it was very funny to see each trying to outwit the other as they gambolled about like kittens.

  On our way back I saw Gopa and Little Elsa on a rocky outcrop of the main ridge, silhouetted against a magnificent sunset. They watched me aloofly as I passed below them. Elsa and Jespah climbed to the top of the Big Rock and called softly. Lazily the two cubs stretched and yawned and then joined their mother. All through the evening I waited with a carcase, but there was no sign of Elsa or of the cubs. Late at night I heard the whuffings of the cubs’ father which explained their absence. Next morning, to make sure that all was well, I went with Nuru to the rock; at the base we found the spoor of a large lion.