Enchanted by the opportunity to photograph these magnificent great cats up close, Mary and I stand in the tall grass at the edge of the enclosures oblivious to the perils we have placed ourselves in. Sunlight dances off the leaves at the edge of the clearing. It sparkles on the water of the ponds. It fills the crystal-clear, azure-blue sky over-head providing us with great lighting. Only gradually do I realize that it’s also quickly burning the exposed skin on the back of my hands, my face and neck. In rushing to get here, I have forgotten to use the sunscreen. I cover up and promise myself not to make the same mistake again.

But I am already just a little too late. The heat is also bringing out tiny black bugs. They rise with the heat coming up off the warming ground into the air around us. They look like miniature flies and draw our casual attention only when walking on those same small areas of pale skin left uncovered. Innocent enough. Not swarming. Dismissed without a thought. A mild annoyance. That is – until they sting.

That first painful stab deep into the tender flesh between my fingers sounds the alarm! OUCH!  I swat. It circles. Another attacks – this time on the back of my hand! On the palm of my hand! In the crease of skin just under my wedding band! My cheek! Dang! Enough! I see Mary spinning away – swatting at them –  quickly pulling out her gloves. Smart. I follow her example and pull my cuffs down ‘til only the tips of my fingers protrude. We back away quickly walking towards the dirt. Lesson learned.

The sunscreen, I am soon to discover, miracle that it is, will keep both sun and bugs away.

A tiny clear blister will soon make an appearance over each wound. A speck of black will inhabit the center. A stinger? A droplet of blood? A parasite? A medical colleague examines the photo we send and thinks it’s not a parasite. Thank goodness, but we really – actually – have no idea. We ask and no one seems to know. We will be mindful to keep these wounds clean as we come to live with them in the weeks ahead.  And, in the middle of the night –  they will itch like crazy!

Howard, the vet, will name the bugs: “Flying Teeth”.

It will be weeks from now, long after I am home, when the last of these wounds caused by my carelessness will finally be completely healed.

This is not a vacation. The dangers here are real. Most will turn out like the “Flying Teeth” to be more annoyance than tragedy, but only if we are careful, vigilant, respectful of the world we have entered, mindful to wear the spray that will tell the bugs to stay a safe distance from us. They, too, have the right to live.

Looking at the lions laying quietly together or sleeping in the heat side by side, I thought about the phrase I had heard over and over again: “Lions are like dogs and tigers are like cats.” I thought about the dogs who have been the great four-footed companions throughout my life. 

Precious Mr. Patches, a Jack Russell terrier rescue, loved the sunshine and me more than anything. Buddy, Rags and Thunder, different dogs who spanned the years, all had been far more content to be positioned beside me on the floor than to be running down the beach chasing seagulls (even though they all loved chasing seagulls!) Being by my side definitely came first. Any one of those dogs would have given its life in an instant to save mine. 

And then there were the cats, the most recent being Mia and Keira, the two young feline rescues I’d left at home. I had already taken to calling them “The Little Lions”  so as not to hurt their feelings with all the “Lion Talk” preparing for this rescue. I realized now that they were definitely far more “Little Tigers” than lions. They’re loving and dear but always choosing mischief over affection, ever watchful and eager to play in a heart-beat. 

Mr. Spenser and Molly who came before them were our feline guardians. They were something else entirely. Pure Spirits. Guardians. Companions on the Journey. 

Something deep within my heart and mind began to open: The rescued wild lions and tigers here, as well as the dogs and the cats who had shared my life, were so much more than I had thought they were. I always knew they were special but now I felt it in a whole new way that I couldn’t quite articulate. There was something tangible and loving and deeply sacred and transformational about each of them. 

Being here in the ADI Temporary Rescue Center where the well-being of the animals was more important than anything else, enabled me to begin to slip into their world, to allow myself to experience who they were in their own right, in their own families, in their own relationships and what they needed and sought with one another and with me. Honesty. Kindness. Trustworthiness. Respect.

I began to experience being part of a web of life that interconnects plants, animals, and all life forces including the Earth Herself. I felt connected at a depth that was stunning, where I knew that what we do to and with every other being and force on this planet matters.

Lions and tigers are different and so is every being from every other and yet, through the web of life, we are joined, all ultimately seeking the same things.

The Lions

I noticed that these lions were smaller, much smaller than the tigers.

I’d never seen a single lion get anywhere near water at the compound – they were always the sun instead. They would spread themselves across the tops of their platforms like melting puddles and sleep in the heat. While the tigers parked themselves in the water, the lions parked themselves in the sun.

The lions stretched. And, so far at least, I’d never seen a lion pounce.

These lions also watched each other, but differently than the tigers did. The tigers watched everything, even when they were in their small night feeding cages.

The lions watched each other. They’d look before approaching to plop down next to one another. Or lean up against each other. Their groupings seemed quieter than the tigers, too, somehow. Less playful and more relaxed and comforting. They’d often be seen lying beside each other touching or almost touching.

I wondered to myself if it was because they were older than the tigers here and not in very good health. I decided to walk down towards them to get a closer look.

It is much quieter down at the far end of the meadow where the land dips off into the valley below. Most of the activity occurs up closer to the entrance. Here, in the quiet, where the five rescued lions were grouped, I came to know ADI’s most fascinating feline couples.

Tarzan and Tanya

His name is Tarzan. His head is huge and scarred. His lip is torn. His tongue often left hanging out. He sits or lays on the highest level of the platform in the late morning sun. I know that he has already had surgery to repair the painful damage to his face. ADI’s Jan Creamer and Tim Phillips immediately took care of that. The lip repair will come once he is safely settled in South Africa.

Always with Tarzan – often right beside him – is the littlest lioness, Tanya. She seems to be ever at his side and, in the few moments when not, her eyes are always on him. I am struck immediately by the contrast between the fragility of her size and the ferocity of her vigilance. They are, indeed, a pair.

“What’s the deal?” I ask, wanting to learn more. No one seemed to know for sure, but finally someone told me that he thought that the two had lived in a circus together where lions and tigers were not kept apart. Apparently, one day, a tiger attacked Tarzan without warning, grabbing his face and tearing into him. By the time the two great cats were separated, Tarzan was pretty badly mangled. There was a rumor floating around that in the midst of it, tiny Tanya had gone after the tiger and caused just enough of a distraction for the men to rescue Tarzan. “Is it true?” I had asked, incredulously. “We’ll never know,” I was told. “It was a circus. There are no records, just lots and lots of stories.”

It may be just a story. Perhaps – even probably.  But then, every time I looked into Tanya’s eyes, I saw the way she looked at Tarzan and I knew – it’s true – at least in her heart, it’s true.

“Lions and tigers are different.”  We would hear that phrase over and over again around Animal Defenders International’s (ADI) Temporary Rescue Center.

“That’s obvious,” I thought – without really thinking. “Of course, they are. Just look at them! “

But then, as I stood at the edge of the exercise yard actually looking at them, I suddenly realized that I couldn’t think of anything else. They look different. Yes, of course, (who knew that tigers were this big) and what else?What does make lions and tigers different? I wondered. And thought.

I knew that lions live in prides.  Did tigers? At that moment, I couldn’t recall. Lions have close family ties. Tigers? I remembered hearing somewhere that male tigers sire cubs and move on. Or was it mountain lions? Was that true? I wasn’t sure about that either. I searched my mind and could come up with very little that I actually knew about these magnificent great cats. How was it that I, who have loved animals my whole life, could actually know so little about them? I was shocked. That just wasn’t okay.

This situation was about to change, radically, in a way that would forever alter my life. I made the commitment right there to pay attention, to be willing to meet these animals in their world instead of flattening and folding them to fit into mine. I wasn’t sure what that meant then but I was determined to try. That commitment took me into a whole new world.

What had I learned from my experience of being with these 5 lions and 12 tigers during the span of these past few days?  A few things:

First, tigers are a swirl of stripes. I knew that for sure. They’re playful and on the move. They love water! Playing in it. Pouncing in it. Splashing it. Dragging tires and tree branches and any other objects they’re given right into it. They love dozing in it. Especially dozing in it. And not just the 2 year-olds. They all revel in water – and playing together, engaging each other – even the adults, hiding and pouncing, charging and rolling.

As I stood there I knew that tigers are stripes and movement, energy and playfulness, and water worshipers.

And, tigers love togetherness.

But what about lions?

to be continued…