Field Notes :

Warrior

I spent the month of June 2004 exploring the hot, dusty, east African wilderness. Each day would start before dawn and the quest for finding wildlife would last until sunset. Our tracker had an uncanny ability to read evidence that would frequently lead us to animals whose ability to hide from predators was their key to survival.

Finding the predators was oftentimes even more difficult. As important as protective coloration is to the very abundant prey species, a predator's survival depends on his ability to be virtually invisible as he approaches his quarry.

We came upon this perfect example of an adult male lion while carefully exploring the grassy plains. Our tracker told us there must be a big lion nearby because the birds were behaving in a way that he recognized as a warning behavior. I can't honestly say that I would have spotted him on my own in the knee-high grass. His fur and his beautiful, full mane blended perfectly with the various shades of the dried grass in which he was sleeping. There was a distinct sense of supreme confidence in this lion. Unlike virtually every other animal on the African plains that must somehow sleep while remaining vigilant to the presence of danger, this battle-scarred veteran was sleeping soundly on his back, completely unaffected, unconcerned and certainly unintimidated by our presence. Spending two hours with a sleeping lion is one of the most extraordinary experiences I've had. I was overcome with a deep sense of awe and respect. I was in the presence of extreme power, and I felt humble and vulnerable in his presence. From time to time he would briefly awake, sit up for a moment, survey his surroundings and resume his apparently very sound sleep. During one very brief period he awoke, sat up to scan the horizon, and looked me right in the eye. He held my gaze for an uncomfortably long moment. The communication was quite clear. He was the master of all he surveyed, and I was unworthy of any further attention.

This photograph was taken at the moment when he looked in to my eyes. His fresh scars led us to believe that he had recently been involved in a battle. His long-healed scars were evidence that he had seen many battles. This one was a warrior, a supreme example of possibly the fiercest predator on the planet.