By Serenoi Raphael Letoiye, Head Guide, Elephant Watch Camp, Samburu
I usually take tourists on safari in Samburu National Reserve. On the afternoon of 8th of January 2014, we found ourselves in a mix of fascination and sadness.
Two lionesses attacked a small Grevy’s zebra herd made up of a lactating female, her foal, and a territorial male. Immediately the herd was ambushed the foal’s neck was caught up between the jaws of one of the lionesses. In realization of the trapped foal, the mother Grevy’s zebra tried to rescue her foal by holding one of its front legs in her mouth and pulling the foal away from the lioness. While this was going on, the territorial male kept a distance from the mayhem. The other lioness then came to aid in the tug of war by chasing away the mother Grevy’s, and this led to the foal being left helpless!
After the foal was confirmed dead the lionesses took a rest for a few minutes before they started to eat it. After their hunger was satisfied they dragged the foal’s carcass to a different site where there were tall grasses and there they stayed in watch for hours and we had to move on for more safari.
We were amazed by the Grevy’s zebra mother’s powerful instinct to protect her foal, bravely putting her own life at risk to save her offspring!
