Raw Tsavo Nights

KENYA | Thursday, 4 July 2013 | Views [585] | View Smaller Image

2. Driving through the pitch black Tsavo scrub, our ears bombarded by surround-sound animal noise but our eyes blind. Suddenly lions materialise out of the darkness into our spotlights. Blink, and we could have missed them. There are three lions. The sub-adult male here is in the company of his brother and mother, concealed in the nearby darkness. In the Tsavo night photography is a true reflection of the place and life - raw, real and instantaneous.

1. The dry red soil of Tsavo brings stark reminder of the drought that forces lions, buffalo and people into close proximity and conflict. The red soil hints at the human blood famously spilled in 1898 and the blood that is still spilled when the sun goes down. In the scrub are strange lions. Males lacking proper manes, bodies coloured grey and with a different social structure to other lions. The very close encounter experiences in this place will live with me forever.

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3. This is the Tsavo night. Some places feel more real after dark and Tsavo is one of them. Reminiscent of a crime scene photo the evidence shows buffalo is high on the menu during the drought. Once famous for man-eating, the maneless lions here make use of the large numbers of buffalo that concentrate in the areas surrounding meagre remaining water sources.

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Raw Tsavo Nights

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