April 2020 BBC Wildlife 97
I
t was3 June2018,the
dayafteranasteroid,
knownas 2018 LA,had
collidedwithEarth,
landinginBotswana.We
hadheardthebang,seen
theKalaharilightupasif it
weredayandfeltthedeep
vibrationsthatfollowedthe
impact.It wasonlylater
thatwediscoveredwehad
witnessedanextra-terrestrialevent.
Stillreelingfromtheexcitement,
wehadfewexpectationsforourwalk
withtwoSantribesmenthatafternoon.
We– fiveexperiencedsafaritravellersand
Bonali,ourguide– metthetribesmen
a shortdrivefromcamp.Wewerejoined
bytwoothervisitorsandtheirguide,
Lucas,whodelivereda safetybriefing,
assuringusafterwardsthatwe“wouldn’t
needit”.
We hiked half a mile into the bush,
the San showing us how they survive in
Botswana’s harsh conditions. Fire-making
was the final demonstration, and as the
blaze was extinguished, we readied
ourselves to return to the Jeeps. Suddenly,
Bonali spoke in an urgent tone: “Lion!”
A few yards away was a lioness. The
San immediately started yelling at her,
but she didn’t move. One of them eventriedrevertingintoEnglish.
“Lion,lion,goaway!”he
shouted.Buttheanimal
wasundeterred.
Wegroupedtogetheras
instructed.Then,wespotted
a secondlion,anda third.
Beforeweknewit,wewere
surroundedbyfivebigcats.
Bonalihadradioedbackto
camp,butit couldbe 30
minutesbeforehelparrived.I knewI
shouldn’trun,butI wasdesperately
lookingfora treetoclimb.
Thelightwasfading,andtwoofthe
lionswerenowmetresinfrontofus.
Onewaslickingherpaw,andseemed
veryinterestedinthat;theotherwas
sittingnonchalantly.Then,shestoodup
andpaddedtowardsus.
ThreeterrificbangseruptedasLucas,
besideme,firedshotsintotheground.The
cats backed away, and I could hear vehicles
approaching. I was glad to be rescued;
gladder still that no lion had been harmed.
They say things happen in threes. As we
rumbled back to camp, I wondered what
adventure lay in wait the next day.Asteroids and ambushes
TA L ES F R O M T H E B US H
You’d think a meteor collision would be enough adventure,
but Margaret Hocking's story didn't stop there.the badger cull and how awful
it was. I thought it might’ve
changed since then but I can see
it is still the same, if not worse.
Lucy Reed, via emailHow strange that you are happy
to condemn the cull of badgers
in your January issue, but not
squirrels. So red squirrels are
‘fi ghting back’? Not without
our intervention and our
cruelty – grey squirrels are
being caught in traps, thrown
into bags and clubbed to death.
People who condone this are no
animal lovers! Just sentimental,
romantic and nostalgic, dare I
say. Just because a squirrel is
grey, doesn’t make it any less
a part of our UK wildlife.
Zoe Cordon, LondonMark seems to take a very
strong view against badger
culling, because bovine TB is
also transmitted in other ways.
This is true, but does he accept
the need to control the badger
population? It is likely that the
large and uncontrolled numbers
of badgers are responsible
for serious reductions in, for
example, the beloved hedgehog
population. Lovely as they are,
badgers are omnivores and enjoy
feeding on ground-nesting and
dwelling birds and mammals.
Ray Cox, via emailMark Carwardine replies:
I’m afraid I don’t accept the need
to control badgers. It’s a myth that
they are to blame for hedgehog
declines. They do kill hedgehogs,
and can be serious competition
for food, but the two species have
co-existed for thousands of years.
Hedgehogs are in trouble because
of degraded and lost habitats, less
food and more road kill.
O Don't miss our special report
onthebadgercullnextissue.OUR WILD WORLD
MARGARET HOCKING is a retired
doctor from Cornwall. She is a keen
amateur photographer and safari-goer.QUIZ ANSWERS (see p92)
The Wild Words are: 1C, 2A, 3B, 4C, 5B, 6B
COMPETITION WINNERS
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch: M Killner, Hampshire
(winner); E Hedditch, West Sussex; R Williams, Gwynedd;
(runners-up)
Dormy House Hotel & Spa: A Pittman, KentCORRECTIONS March 2020: Pangolins in Peril,
p60: the giant ground pangolin is now listed as
Endangered, not Vulnerable.I knew I
shouldn’t
run, but I was
desperately
looking for a
tree to climb.S
T
Have a wild
tale to tell? Email a
brief synopsis to
sarah.mcpherson@
immediate.co.ukMeeting one lion in Glenda Balderson
the bush is worrying
enough, let alone a
team of fi ve.