Phenomenal Confrontations With Lions In The Sabiepark

That was not the only confrontation with lions that Crabtree won’t forget in a hurry. Another was on a busy Saturday morning in 1982 – the park packed with weekend visitors. A third incident took place shortly afterwards, just as the Crabtrees had packed their car to go on holiday. That’s when the lions decided to pay a visit…

The Saturday adventure started off when a rather upset lady informed him that six lions were lazing on the steps to the club house, drooling over a herd of wildebeest grazing on the green turf. But dare he fire a rifle with all these people around? A few phone calls later he had his orders: “Get rid of those lions. Immediately!’’ For the next 90 minutes Sabiepark would no longer be a peaceful game reserve. More a hunting terrain.

Four of the lions were cornered in the bush around the admin building, and shot there and then. Two impressive males got away. Crabtree tried chasing them back to the Kruger. Along with five game wardens he set after the lions with a Toyota pick-up van, or “bakkie”, as we South-Africans know these vehicles. One lion crossed the river without any resistance. Number 2 decided to stand his ground. At first he hid behind an antheap. Then he charged the bakkie with an almighty roar. Crabtree had to reload pronto. His aim was perfect, but the big cat’s momentum carried him over the bonnet and cab, ending up among the terrified wardens in the back. They cursed and shouted, jumped head over heels to safety and sprinted for the nearest trees. Crabtree then fired another shot to finish off the animal.

A short while later, the Crabtrees were right and ready to leave for a holiday in the Cape. Just then a shocked messenger brought disturbing news:

A huge lion had chased an entire group of builders into the rafters of a house being built along the river bank. Well, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Crabtree donned his uniform and set off for the river. At the scene, workers directed him towards the growling lion where it lurked in a thicket. The beautifully maned cat immediately went into attack mode when it spotted the man with the rifle. Crabtree hardly had time to pull the trigger, but the single shot from the Parker Hale .308 was dead on target. The huge lion collapsed at his feet. Stone cold dead.

That was not the end of that story. As they were leaving through the gate on their already delayed holiday, Crabtree was called back yet again. Another lion problem had developed near the picnic site. The frustrated warden had no choice. He had to go through the whole ritual again – but with a complication this time. This lion, a comrade of the previous one, was in a really foul mood. The wardens had to have their wits about them with this mister. But Crabtree aimed well and again fired just a single shot, killing the creature. All in a day’s work. Only then could he finally take off without any further ado on a well-deserved break.

As time went on, Sabiepark became less “wild’’. The lions don’t visit as often as before – but do not believe that they have stopped coming altogether. In April 2001 an opportunistic lioness took shelter from light rain on the stoep of the admin block. In a Sabiepark scrapbook a fuzzy photo taken at night shows her glowing eyes. And ask Stuart and Bernadette Graham of Bataleur (erf 112 in Knoppiesdoring Avenue). Twice during the ‘90s they had to “host” visiting lions at their place on the western border of the park.

Two females were only overnight “guests’’. They were disposed of without much trouble. But a young male was enjoying his stay. He appeared around midnight at the Grahams’ front door and let out a roar that rattled the window panes. Then he moved back and forth in front of the house. David Zeller, head warden at that time, had just taken over from the Crabtrees (Ian’s son, Derek, had succeeded his father). He cordoned off the area. Then wardens brought the carcass of a buck from the Kruger. It was attached to a pole to serve as bait. Despite its apparent hunger, the cunning male ignored the juicy carcass, as if he were a devout vegetarian. In the end he spent two weeks in Sabiepark, finally marching off home disdainfully via the picnic spot.

In 1998 the late Ronnie Schoombie (erf 267, a panhandle off Wildevy Avenue) got the fright of his life. During a regular walk on his own along the hikers’ trail, he suddenly faced a lioness. The golden rule is to freeze, as a lion will normally attack from the rear. But Schoombie, terrified by the unexpected encounter, turned around and made tracks for the picnic spot. The lioness, also taken by surprise, took off – luckily, in the opposite direction!

STRANGE ECOUNTER of an enormous kind. Tokkie only appears to be at ease – the guy with the huge posterior had her heart skipping quite a few beats!

On Wednesday morning, 24 June 1998, a week after our elephant excitement and Schoombie’s incident, Tokkie and I had our introduction to the big cats. We went for our usual morning walk. On the corner of Wildevy and Worsboom Avenues, about 500 metres from our driveway, a wide-eyed worker in green overalls stopped us. “Have a look at these lion spoor – they’re fresh,’’ he warned. We looked, turned around and headed home rather hurriedly.