“Up close and personal” barely captures our experience with the lions near Mokete camp in Botswana.

As apex predators, lions hunt not just with strength but with brainpower. We found ourselves marveling—not just at their roar—but at their strategic planning and execution.

Buffalo at Sundown

On our first outing to track the lions, we encountered this gigantic herd of over 2000 Cape Buffalo.

The buffalo were relaxed, enjoying the companionship of the cattle egrets and yellow oxpeckers who were removing ticks, fleas, and other parasites from their hides.

As we watched, two lionesses tracked this massive herd of buffalo as the sun eased into dusk.

They scouted, searching for a weak link. One lioness climbed a termite mound and roared—a call for reinforcements, a step in the plan.

The herd stayed tight. No help arrived. The lionesses withdrew—hungry, but undeterred.

Breakfast, the Next Morning

At dawn, reinforcements had arrived. This time the odds shifted.

The lions slipped through the grass, coordinated their approach, and closed in from multiple angles.

They separated the lone buffalo.

And then they attacked from multiple directions.

We learned that lions don’t break necks. They suffocate. A bite to the throat collapses the windpipe, or they clamp the muzzle shut. Once the prey fell, the pride regrouped and fed in turn, each waiting its moment. Watching them, we couldn’t help but notice the quiet efficiency of it all—like an old rhythm practiced many times before.

Strategy in the Grass

What struck us most wasn’t the violence—it was the calm calculation.

Every pride member seemed to know their role. One distracted, another flanked, a third watched the herd’s cohesion. They probed, tested, adjusted.

Evolution shaped the behavior, our guide explained, and it felt deliberate—a type of significant intelligence and problem-solving. We noted how some groups of people might benefit from that kind of instinctive and disciplined teamwork.

Teaching and Echoes

Another day, a different pride brought down a buffalo and turned the carcass into a classroom.

Two-month-old cubs were pushed forward to learn the basics of meat, teeth, and survival. They learned to taste blood by licking their mother’s face. Training in its rawest form.

This carcass was a tasty meal for the entire pride, and they took turns dining well into the night.

The hyenas waited patiently nearby for their turn at the action.

By morning, all remnants of the carcass were gone, except for some spots of blood.

Elsewhere, two lions alternated between guarding and feeding on a young elephant carcass.

Later, a pair of males roared across the river to their brothers in Namibia. The response came back in stereophonic thunder, shaking us to our cores.

Surrounded

One of the most unforgettable moments came when our safari jeep suddenly found itself surrounded by lions.

More and more lions popped up out of the grass and sauntered by our jeep. The effect swallowed us—so powerful it felt like an initiation into their clan. When they roared, the volume shook the air, yet we never felt unsafe. Instead, it was as if we’d been briefly folded into their circle.

Small Camps, Big Lessons

Our guides weren’t just drivers. They were storytellers, ecologists, teachers. They wanted us to see not just the hunt, but the system behind it: the planning, the discipline, the way each action fed into the balance of the ecosystem.

Unlike other safari regions, this one remains refreshingly uncluttered. Camps are small and remote. A few vehicles, never a traffic jam. Each sighting feels private, raw, and real.

The lions are habituated to safari vehicles. Our guides said they don’t mind our vehicles close by – the lions just assume we’re a different, non-threatening species.  Some lions even like to sit in the shade supplied by the vehicle. You can see how close we are!

To sit within a pride of lions, hear them roar across borders, and watch them teach their cubs the rules of survival—this is to glimpse the circle of life as it truly unfolds.

As the sun set each evening, we returned to the comfort and safety of camp. The smell of wood smoke drifted in the air, lantern light flickered on canvas walls, and the images of the day lingered—later mixing into our dreams, but only after we had sipped our fine South African wines.