HUMAN CHRONICLES 35 Thirty years ago, there were 7,500 rhinos in Zambia. When we visited the game park there were just five! continued ... or they will feel threatened and attack. If they roll over, distract them with the stick; do not touch their tail when they are lying down or sitting. “Talk to them when you approach them so you do not take them by surprise. They do not understand any language, so just keep talking! They are wild animals, they are not tamed. They have learned to co-habitat with humans. Their killing instincts are very much intact. When they are two years old, they will be released into the game park which is about 80,000 hectares.” These were the words of Faria, the lion minder before I approached the lions – Simba, Nelli, Luba, and Shingu – at the Mukuni Big 5 Safaris, Livingstone, Zambia. I did feel a bit like Tarzan. The stick was insurance. If she turned her head and tried to snap at my loving hand, I was to distract her by offering the stick! I paid good money to massage the little squirt! [I did think of opening a massage parlour for exotic animals!] Lions and lionesses like their belly
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