The Isness

In regards to the post, “in the forest, there lives a lady.”

Maybe I should append the above-mentioned post a bit for those of ye who have not read previous posts about Lady. This may help shed some light on why she behaves the way she does.

First of all, if you want to watch an awesome documentary about Lady--filmed by and featuring my friend Herbert--check out “The Last Lioness.” here it is...

The Last Lioness

Liuwa is a vast plains ecosystem situated in far-western Zambia, on the border of Angola. In the late 1990’s (back in the 1900’s, that is) and the early 2000’s, Angolans who were fleeing their country’s bloody civil war crossed the border into Zambia. They came bearing arms, mostly AK-47’s. And they came bearing no food or money. When they entered the Liuwa area, they found wildebeests by the tens of thousands (the second biggest wildebeest population/migration in Africa next to the one in the Serengeti)--along with dozens of other abundant antelope species. For these soon-to-be-poachers, there was a food source in the antelope and a money source in the illegal trophy hunting of lions. And so, the poaching began. Angolan and other poachers alike completely wiped out several species from the area (such as buffalo and eland--which have since been re-introduced), and they reduced other species like wildebeest to near extirpation. And they killed every single lion in the entire ecosystem. Except one.

Lady lived alone for several years, possibly 5-7. Lady most likely had several run-ins with poachers, and probably witnessed the slaughtering of her family, her pride, every other lion, and much of her food source. Eventually, the Angolan civil war came to an end and measures were taken to halt the poaching. As the ecosystem began to recover, Lady lived alone. She hunted alone and fended off clans of hyenas alone, neither of which are easy tasks.

Lions are the only big cats that are truly social by nature. So a solitary existence may have been difficult for Lady on many levels. She had to learn how to take down adult wildebeests by herself, and she had to adjust to a life without companionship. Three or so years ago, African Parks Conservation introduced two sub-adult male lions from another park into the Liuwa ecosystem. So Lady, for the first time in years, had other lions to interact with. Yet, there is not a strong social bond between Lady and the males because adult male and female lions do not fully integrate socially. Males form coalitions amongst themselves, and the females form prides. The two groups will interact for various reasons, such as during feeding or during the mating season. She mated with them, but never conceived. And although the males do not hunt with her, she often willingly shares her kills with them. I once witnessed her nudging one of the males towards a wildebeest she had killed because she wanted the male lion to eat more than he had already eaten.

And while I was there, we introduced two sub-adult female lions in the hopes that they would form a pride with Lady (which has not happened yet as far as I know--mostly because the tough-guy males keep scaring the young lionesses away). So, Lady is still essentially alone and lives a pride-less existence (not to say she is not proud). This, I believe, really helps explain why she approaches certain humans affectionately. It seems she chose Herbert and I because we were probably the most open to interacting and connecting with her, and showed the least fear towards her.

If ever there were a lion that should have a reason to fear or resent humans, it would be her. But such is not the case.

How would you feel towards lions (or say, wolves--for certain wolf-hating residents of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho) if they came into your town one day and killed your parents, your siblings, your friends, and your neighbors--and then proceeded to burn down your grocery stores, slaughter your cattle, and trample your farms and gardens? And towards this species that ransacked your home and forced you to live totally alone for several years, would you show kindness?

Truly, a lesson in forgiveness. Thank you, Lady.

And it is a lesson in seeing that not all members of a certain species, ethnicity, or race are the same in their actions and attitudes. (As a quick aside, allow me to note that many of the species that humans often fear, or label as man-eaters or cattle-eaters, or consider to be evil--such as lions, wolves, and bears--have killed far far less of us than we have killed of them. For example, in the Great Plains of this country where grizzly bears and wolves used to roam in extraordinary numbers, you now find no grizzly bears and no wolves (except in Minnesota). But you do find endless miles of genetically modified cornfields that are stripping the ancient, sacred soil of all its worth.) I am not out to kill lions, nor is Herbert, nor are most of the local people who currently live in Liuwa. Mabye Lady knows this, and she does not hold us accountable for the actions of the poachers who came before us. Just as I would not would not want to be accused of being a Nazi despite my German last name. Nor would I want to be blamed for the once-prevalent slavery in the US of A, despite my white skin.

So let us see each person as they are. And always be open to the goodness that resides in each soul, regardless our preconceptions and past experiences. Because the moment you close yourself off from the beauty of the isness, you may miss the chance to connect with an adult lioness.

Mt. Brown looking like the great guardian of all that is white.

Back in Montana now. So good to be here. To roam is to know the joy of coming home.

I journeyed into the magical ewok forest of Glacier yesterday. The sun was shining, sky was blue, mountains were blindingly white and glorious, chandeliers of dagger-ish icicles bejeweled the streamside cliffs, and the air smelled like immortality. I was the only human around, walking about with a pep in my step and glide in my stride. And a perma-grin just above my chin. Altitudinous winds ruffled the snowy feathers of mountain crowns, stirring up wisps of windblown snow clouds from every frozen peak (set against a lifegiving backdrop of blue)-- creating floating auras reminiscent of magmatic smoke, and projecting upon me the sensation that I was living in a land of waking volcanoes. The cedar and hemlock said to me, “we are happy to see you again.” It was the kind of day when the sun is sincere and warm but the air is cold, when the snowy ground sings clearly of crystalline winter while the cobalt sky conjectures that it is indeed spring (and the time of blooming is upon us). They call this the shoulder season, but I felt it in my legs, lungs, blood and bones -- in my entire body, and every part of my being. Everything was going great. until this happened...