Big Cat Safari - 26 September - 4 October 2010 by Jackie and Colin Morris

Wednesday 29th September – Woke at 4.30am for a 5 am breakfast. Cool wind blowing but mostly fine weather. A group of 7 Australians was driven into the reserve and found the location of the lioness we wanted using telemetry and the help of other trackers. Dr Peter Brothers prepared his drugs for the dart gun and a kill was set up to lure the lions out of the scrub so he could get a clear shot at her. Well that took some time having to sit perfectly still and quiet but finally the chance came and she was darted. Of course, she took off into the denser scrub but we found her. Once the cars were in position, Peter and his helpers jumped out to pick up the lioness but we were told not to look at them. Why not, I thought, until Peter says we have to keep a lookout for her sister, her cubs or the male lion to come out of the scrub to help her. But you could only see a metre or two through the bush! Thank goodness we were in the safety of the vehicle. All being well, we drove down the track to a clearing where we could work on her in relative safety. It was a well-oiled operation where Peter got to work replacing her collar and inserting a contraceptive device while we had smaller jobs to do like monitoring her pulse, breathing and body temperature. One of our group was a veterinary nurse so she helped take blood samples. After many photos, an antidote was given and while we watched from a distance, she got up groggily and wobbled into the bush back to her friends. I felt like I’d done a day’s work but it was only 1.30pm and time for lunch. The experience gave all of us a deeper understanding and appreciation for the work wildlife vets do and Peter’s title respectfully grew from the “driver/tour leader” to “the vet”. Overall an immensely exciting and humbling experience putting into perspective our normally humdrum lives.

Thank you Jackie and Colin for your blog and for joining Brothers Safaris on The Big Cat Safari.