Saving the White Lions
Page 40
Meanwhile, Zihra’s continuing her intrepid mission toward the open gate, her brothers following her lead! Zihra doesn’t know fear. She’s all bright-eyed and swishy-tailed. By contrast, her mother is intimately familiar with the darkness that lies in the heart of humanity; it’s the cross Marah has to bear.
Putting myself in Marah’s position, a shadow suddenly crosses my own vision. Are there dangers beyond these gates, known to the Queen, which I can’t even comprehend? I shudder and focus on the positive. She’s divinely appointed and divinely protected. The Queen will choose her own timing.
For her innocent cubs, the Big Moment has arrived! They’ve actually stepped beyond the threshold, out into their new world! Zihra first, then Letaba, then, a little behind, Regeus. They’re about to saunter down the grassy path toward a mapane thicket, but realizing their mother isn’t following, all three turn around and head back for her.
They resist entering the boma again and instead circle outside the enclosure and walk down the full length of the northern border to find her.
In the far distance, I can just see them peering in at their mother.
They must be making low guttural sounds of encouragement, because I hear Jason’s voice explaining through the radio: “Cubs calling.… Marah’s returned to the carcass.… Doesn’t look like there’s much left to eat, but she’s hanging on to it anyway.”
From the moment Marah steps out of the confinement of the boma, she’ll be expected to provide not only for herself, but also for her fast-growing offspring. These are some of the practical challenges that have worried Jason all along.
Without ever having interacted with the wild, without any natural training from her own mother (from whom she was forcibly removed at birth), how can Marah possibly reclaim the laws of the bushveld?
My heart’s aching for her. I feel what she herself must be experiencing, acutely. Just knowing a few of the challenges, I would be hanging onto that carcass for dear life too!
“She’s looking up now,” Jason’s voice comes through the radio, “and she’s moving in the direction of the cubs.”
In the far distance, I pick out the gracious figure of Marah for the first time, her royal head raised above the high grass. Her eyes are fixed on the open gate, then beyond the gate, to the film crew’s vehicle with its lenses aimed at her.
Taking another look at the filming vehicle—from Marah’s perspective—I have no difficulty understanding her reticence. All I see are the long-lens high-definition TV cameras pointing out of the camera portals, like a row of machine guns. In an unlikely flash of comparison, I suddenly have a vision of Princess Diana, and how the paparazzi hounded this royal, never more than in those last moments of freedom. This morning, it seemed rather unsympathetic of me to enforce the restriction on all three cameramen in one cramped vehicle roasting in the sun, like a can of sardines. However, watching and experiencing Marah’s hesitation, I’m now regretting that I allowed camera crews at all.
These are all highly professional and dedicated cameramen, and sensitive to the issues. So I radio them now and ask them to pull the vehicle back a distance away from the gate, to give the Lion Queen her space. I know they’ll do this willingly, and I watch the vehicle start up and pull back behind an apple leaf tree.
Even so, Marah still holds back. Jason reports she’s returned to the carcass and is gnawing the last unfinished scraps. I can imagine the trepidation she’s feeling, and both Leslie and I concentrate on giving her encouragement, telepathically.
In response, we both receive the same telepathic message: “What if I fail to hunt in the wild?”
“Don’t expect miracles overnight,” I try to convey my answer to Marah. “Jason and I are here at all times. All you have to do is to indicate to us whenever you need assistance, and we’ll gladly leave a carcass under a tree for you.”
“And if I fail? The world’s watching me.”
“You won’t fail, Queen Marah,” I respond. “Every step you take is a success—we know you’re restoring order to chaos.”
These are strange words of response that come to me, but I know them to be true.
The hunting is, after all, just a formality in returning Marah to her natural condition. We must not forget that the Lion Queen will make this epic transition back to her natural world in her own unique way and on her own terms.
She’s back in sight now through my binoculars, and I’m relieved to see her whole disposition looks calmer. Finally, she summons her composure. Serenely, she walks straight out of her captive enclosure with her head held high, a queen to the very last, looking neither left nor right, but straight as a laser. Watching her from outside, the cubs are literally leaping for joy! She steps out over the threshold, and they follow, one by one, bounding after their royal mother into the dense bushveld.
I allow myself the deepest sigh of relief.
A new era has begun: Dawn of the White Lions!
LINDA TUCKER grew up in South Africa during Apartheid and attended the universities of Cape Town and Cambridge. In 2002, she founded the Global White Lion Protection Trust, a nonprofit community conservation organization that works not only to protect the white lions, but also to conserve the knowledge of the Tsonga and Sepedi cultures, which celebrate the white lion as a sacred living heritage. She has been a guest speaker at multiple international conservation congresses, and her work has been featured in documentaries produced by National Geographic and CBS. She lives in Tsau White Lion Heartland, a protected wilderness area neighboring the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, with her partner, lion ecologist Jason Turner, and the white lion prides they have reintroduced to their ancestral lands.
North Atlantic Books
Berkeley, California
Personal, spiritual, and planetary transformation
North Atlantic Books, a nonprofit publisher established in 1974, is dedicated to fostering community, education, and constructive dialogue. NABCommunities.com is a meeting place for an ever-growing membership of readers and authors to engage in the discussion of books and topics from North Atlantic’s core publishing categories.
NAB Communities offer interactive social networks in these genres:
NOURISH: Raw Foods, Healthy Eating and Nutrition, All-Natural Recipes
WELLNESS: Holistic Health, Bodywork, Healing Therapies
WISDOM: New Consciousness, Spirituality, Self-Improvement
CULTURE: Literary Arts, Social Sciences, Lifestyle
BLUE SNAKE: Martial Arts History, Fighting Philosophy, Technique
Your free membership gives you access to:
Advance notice about new titles and exclusive giveaways
Podcasts, webinars, and events
Discussion forums
Polls, quizzes, and more!
Go to www.NABCommunities.com and join today.