Day 3 - The 3 R's

Today we went on two walks with a litter of lions known as the 3 R’s:  Rwanda, Ruma and Rufiji.  These lions are 16 months old and consist of 2 females and a male.

We bonded further with the lions today, who allowed us to pat their faces and pull (blood engorged) ticks off their bodies.

We also participated in a “Behavioral Enhancement” project.  We built a crocodile and an impala using sticks, grasses, and other natural materials found in the game reserve.  These figures are used by the lions to practice stalking and capturing prey.  We heard later in the day that Besa and Bemba were walked near the “impala” which was promptly pounced upon and torn to shreds.

Despite the ominous weather predictions when we left for Zambia, the weather has been great.  We have yet to see any significant rain and are enjoying very warm temperatures.

We look forward to starting the New Year in Zambia!

Ruma and Rufiji fighting

Rwanda, the Male R.

Zambia Day 2: Lion Bonding and Poop Patrol

This morning we walked with Besa and Bemba for approximately 2 hours.

The purpose of the walk was for the lions to get to know us better and learn to obey us. 

We were joined by Cara, the program manager, 3 lion handlers, and a scout.  The scout was equipped with a .375 caliber rifle.  He walked far ahead of the group to ensure that the intended route was safe, and stayed in constant radio contact with us.

The afternoon was poop patrol time.  We de-pooped 2 lion enclosures, each approximately 60 meters x 60 meters.  Those were the biggest litter boxes we’ve ever cleaned.  Later in the day/evening we encountered various animals including hippos, cape buffalo, antelope, monkeys and a couple of curious owls.

This lion is 16 months old and has its 2nd (and final) set of teeth

Bob, Julia and Bemba

Day 1 in Zambia

After a grueling 30 hour journey, we have arrrived at our final destination in Zambia, Africa.  We were quite tired, but still had enough energy to go for a 1 hour walk with a couple of young female lions.  Despite that it's the rainy season we enjoyed nice weather today; no rain!  We are living in simple accomodations nestled in a game reserve.  So far we have seen lots of animals in the wild:  elephants, baboons, crocodile, various types of birds, antelope and more.  We are staying very close to the shore of the Zambezi river and expect to see hippos (we were warned not to wander for that reason)



Julia petting Besa.



Julia & Bob with Bemba and Besa in the background.

Departure Day

It's departure day and we are very excited about our upcoming trip.  We have collected many donations for the orphanage including soccer jerseys, toys, 46 calculators and one small computer.

We will be traveling from Toronto, to Frankfurt, to Johannesburg to Livingstone; with layovers, a total of 30 hours travel time!

The weather forecast is as expected for this time of year in Zambia (the rainy season):

Long Term Forecast Updated: Monday, December 27, 2010, 12:18 SST

	Tuesday Dec. 28	Wednesday Dec. 29	Thursday Dec. 30	Friday Dec. 31	Saturday Jan. 1	Sunday Jan. 2
Conditions 6am - 6pm
	Thunder- showers	Thunder- showers	Cloudy with showers	Thunder- showers	Light rain	Thunder- showers
P.O.P.	90%	90%	40%	40%	90%	60%
Conditions 6pm - 6am
	Thunder- showers	Thunder- showers	Cloudy	Light rain	Cloudy with showers	Chance of thunder- showers
P.O.P.	90%	90%	30%	100%	60%	60%
High	30°C	31°C	31°C	31°C	26°C	32°C
Feels Like	37	39	38	37	34	39
Low	20°C	20°C	21°C	20°C	20°C	21°C
Wind	NE 15 km/h	E 5 km/h	NE 10 km/h	NE 10 km/h	NE 5 km/h	NE 5 km/h
24-Hr Rain	close to 15 mm	close to 10 mm	less than 1 mm	close to 10 mm	10+More than 10 mm of rain possible mm	close to 5 mm

Blog Created!

We are very excited about our upcoming trip to the town of Livingstone, Zambia, Africa.

The purpose of the trip is to work in the Livingstone community for 2 weeks.  Much of this volunteer work will take place at a lion breeding sanctuary where we will be living.  We will also be involved in local community projects. 

The lion sanctuary work will include taking young lions for walks each day.  By doing so, these lions will gain enough hunting skills and independence to live in the wild.  We will also be required to feed lions, clean lion cages (ugh!) and collect data regarding the lions' progress.

The community work is still in the planning stages, but we expect to have some time dedicated to visting the Lubasi orphanage http://www.lubasihome.org/   We are in the beginning stages of exploring what we can do to offer assistance to this orphange.

Departure date is Dec 27th.  We've received our travel clinic prescriptions (malaria pills for example), booked our flights and continue to communicate with our hosts in preparation for the trip.