Então, nós entramos na estrada de Shitlhave Dam... e subitamente ouvi Pedro gritar. Ali estava ele, um leão (Panthera leo) andando na nossa direção, visivelmente incomodado por vários carros que o seguiam. Conhecíamos então a faceta lotada do sul do Kruger. Ele parecia um velho macho, que fora acordado por todas aquelas pessoas. Nós vimos muitos leões posteriormente sem tantas pessoas os incomodando, mais ao norte do parque. Mas naquele ponto altamente visitado, ele estava simplesmente danado. Então, subitamente ele parou e se virou rumo a um carro. Oops, o que ele faria, nós pensamos diante da cena. Mas ele simplesmente girou em torno de si mesmo, como um gatinho pequeno, e deitou tentando dormir. Sim, ele estava sonolento. Não é surpreendente, leões machos dormem até 20 horas por dia! Mas era difícil dormir com tanta gente ao redor. Assim, ele veio rumo ao nosso carro, passou bem ao meu lado (como uma das fotos mostra) e desapareceu entre as árvores, tentando achar um lugar para tirar seu cochilo em paz. Wow, isso foi demais... fizemos piadas de que era um leão treinado que fugira de um circo.. Apenas piadas.... É este tipo de situação assombrosa que o Kruger nos oferece. Aqui seguem as fotos.
So, we entered Shitlhave Dam road… and, suddenly, I hear Pedro shout. There he is, a lion (Panthera leo) walking towards us, visibly annoyed by several cars following him. We knew then the crowded face of South Kruger. He looked like an old male, who was woken up by all those people. We saw many lions afterwards without so many people annoying them, up north in the park. But at that highly visited point, he simply looked pissed off. Then, he suddenly stopped and turned towards a car. Oops, what would he do, we considered amazed by the scene. But he simply went round himself, like a small cat, and laid down to try to sleep. Yes, this guy was sleepy. Not surprising, male lions sleep up to 20 hours per day! But it was difficult to sleep with so many people around. So, he came by our car, passed just besides me (as one of the pictures show) and disappeared among the trees, trying to find a spot to take his nap in peace. Wow, that was something… We made jokes that he was a trained lion that escaped from a circus… but it was just jokes… this is the kind of amazing situation that Kruger offers us. Here is the sequence of pictures.
Este leão estava realmente cercado por carros.
This lion was really surrounded by cars.
Here he is turning back… Will he do something with the people in the car? No, just going round to sleep as if he was a small cat… obviously, nothing of the sort!
Ele ainda estava incomodada. Uma nova solução tinha de ser encontada: ir para longe dessas pessoas!
He was still annoyed. A new solution had to be found: go away of all these people!
Então ele veio na nossa direção e passou bem ao meu lado, quando tirei a terceira foto abaixo, com a janela abaixada, claro.
Then he just came in our direction and passed just besides me, when I took the third picture below, with the window down, surely.
So, we entered Shitlhave Dam road… and, suddenly, I hear Pedro shout. There he is, a lion (Panthera leo) walking towards us, visibly annoyed by several cars following him. We knew then the crowded face of South Kruger. He looked like an old male, who was woken up by all those people. We saw many lions afterwards without so many people annoying them, up north in the park. But at that highly visited point, he simply looked pissed off. Then, he suddenly stopped and turned towards a car. Oops, what would he do, we considered amazed by the scene. But he simply went round himself, like a small cat, and laid down to try to sleep. Yes, this guy was sleepy. Not surprising, male lions sleep up to 20 hours per day! But it was difficult to sleep with so many people around. So, he came by our car, passed just besides me (as one of the pictures show) and disappeared among the trees, trying to find a spot to take his nap in peace. Wow, that was something… We made jokes that he was a trained lion that escaped from a circus… but it was just jokes… this is the kind of amazing situation that Kruger offers us. Here is the sequence of pictures.
Este leão estava realmente cercado por carros.
This lion was really surrounded by cars.
Aqui está ele se virando.. Ele fará algo com as pessoas no carro? Não, só girando para tentar dormir como se fosse um gatinho... Obviamente, não é nada do tipo!
Here he is turning back… Will he do something with the people in the car? No, just going round to sleep as if he was a small cat… obviously, nothing of the sort!
He was still annoyed. A new solution had to be found: go away of all these people!
Então ele veio na nossa direção e passou bem ao meu lado, quando tirei a terceira foto abaixo, com a janela abaixada, claro.
Then he just came in our direction and passed just besides me, when I took the third picture below, with the window down, surely.
E então ele se foi.
And
then he went away.
Nós estávamos chocados, mas continuamos a manter a atenção voltada para outros animais. Nós vimos na estrada e no reservatório: 1 garça cinzenta (Ardea cinerea), 2 gansos egípcios (Alopochen aegyptiaca), 1 corvo-marinho africano (Phalacrocorax africanus), 1 abibe-preto-e-branco (Vanellus armatus), 6 Patos-assobiadores-de-faces-brancas (Dendrocygna viduata). Aqui está uma foto da garça cinzenta (a uma grande distância) e outra de um dos patos-assobiadores (em meio à grama).
We were
blown away, but continued to be attentive to other animals. We saw in the road
and the dam: 1 Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea),
2 Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca),
1 Reed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax africanus),
1 Blacksmith Lapwing (Plover) (Vanellus
armatus), 6 White-Faced Ducks (Dendrocygna
viduata). Here are a picture of the grey heron (from a large distance) and
another of one of the white-faced ducks (among the grass).
Por fim, uma visão do reservatório Shitlhave.
Finally,
here is a view of Shitlhave Dam.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário