Another time, again in Tanzania, went to check the lion bait about 10:00 in the morning. Snuck through the riverine thicket along the sandy river bed, and slinked up into a clearing maybe 50 yards in diameter. The zebra haunch hanging from a big baobab tree had been fed on the previous night. Tracks, mane hair, craw marks on the trunk all showed some big cats had fed. As we causally admired the scene, 2 big maned lions awoke from their nap in the thicket not 30 yards from us. They were shocked to see us and roared to loud enough to shake your soul. Standing unarmed, our collective party went pale and damned near laid golden eggs as the pair ran across the clearing past us, away from the river!
Thrilling, but not cardiologist approved. Had that been near dusk, they very likely would have been much more aggressive.
Don't be silly, the cardiologists give drugs to increase patients' heart rates all the time when doing Cardiolyte-Persantine stress tests. This is just a more "natural" way to get the old pumper racing!!!
But I gotta echo Rost's query... why the heck were you unarmed while checking bait?!? When I was in the Bubye both times, any time we were out of camp we had our rifles with us, or within a few steps' reach. My PH told my wife strictly that if she had to go behind a bush to do her business out in the bush, she was to tell him beforehand so he or I (or both) would have rifle(s) in hand and be watching her backside... er, I mean, background.
