Explorations Company: a Kenya safari adventure beyond the expected

I am so close to a lion that I can hear the snap and crunch of bones as it eats its kill. I’ve been told the carcass lying in a muddy puddle in front of me was once a male buffalo, but with little more than a ribcage and spine left, I’ll have to take my guide’s word for it.

Having arrived by light aircraft on the world-famous Maasai Mara only minutes ago, it’s fair to say – as a mainly city person, frankly – that I am astonished to be confronted with the sight of two young lionesses finishing off the gristly remains of a two-day-old kill, as a male with a shaggy, golden mane looks on. With their faces smeared with both mud and blood, the two enjoying their lunch look almost comically gruesome. I can hear their sighs and pants as they gnaw through bone. Nearby, opportunistic jackals are biding their time, waiting for their chance to steal a bite of the buffalo. I should probably be terrified. Instead, as I sit in a jeep only a short distance away from the scene, I am totally transfixed.

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