John Varty & Tiger Canyon

[Pckts]

Here is an interesting account of Villagers and Lions and how they co-exist.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Hello Friends 

The year is 1990. The place is Masai Mara in Kenya. A pride of lions attacks a herd of Masai cows and kills one. 

The Lions have broken a silent agreement between themselves and the Masai not harm the Masai cattle. 

Retribution will be swift and it will be brutal. Within minutes of the news breaking that a cow has been killed, 20 warriors are moving swiftly to the scene of the attack. 

The Lions are found lying in a thicket. The warriors, each 6 foot tall and magnificent athletes are armed with long spears, short swords and marungu, surround the‎ thicket. Now the brothers in arms move in, ready for the kill. 

A male lion charges a warrior called Nkotoi. It jumps on him ripping his throat out. Spears fly through the air striking the lion. The lion drops Nkotoi and runs. Nkotoi dies shortly after this from loss of blood. 

The warriors pursue the male lion into the next thicket and find it crouched in the dense bush. Wounded and aggressive, the warriors know the lion will be at its most dangerous. Pride and courage are at stake. The Masai know that another warrior may die, yet still they move in. The male lion charges and grabs Nanga by the arm. As Nanga goes down, the lion snaps two of his fingers like match sticks. 

More spears fly. The lion runs for a third thicket. One warrior stays with Nanga, the rest follow the lion. The male lion is weakening, at least 3 spears have hit him, but he is not done yet. He charges Sopiya. As he comes in, Sopiya hits him with a rungu (a rungu is a piece of wood carved with a round knob on the top). The force of Sopiya's rungu breaks the lion’s upper canine‎. The male lion jumps onto Sopiya biting across his shoulders and collar bone. (We later worked out that if Sopiya had not broken the canine it would have gone into his heart and killed him). Cordylla runs in, forcing the jaws of the male lion open and pulling Sopiya to safety. (Cordylla would later receive the highest award for bravery). 

Now 4, 5 and 6 spears rain into the lion and it dies quickly. The hunt and the life of the lion are over.  These are real‎ hunters. Fearless, brave they are killing the lion not for trophies, but because it has killed a cow.

*This image is copyright of its original author

One of the Masai is dead, two are badly wounded. It has been a fair chase with lion having every chance to escape (The rest of the pride did escape). It has been a contest between tooth and claw & spears‎. The highest form of bravery has been displayed on both sides. Blood has been spilled on both sides. 

Compare this to the American who pays a professional hunter to drag and bait along the boundary of a national park and then shoots it from the safety of a jeep from 25 metres using a powerful spotlight and compound bow.

Tread Lightly on the Earth
JV

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