I saw this as a gif on Facebook yesterday, and today it’s all over the Internet, getting half a million views in just two days. Well, we needn’t reject a video because of its popularity, and this one is lovely. It shows two safari-goers in Botswana being awakened by lions licking the condensed dew off their tent. (My first theory is that they wanted the booze inside!).
From IFL Science:
. . . the footage shows three parched lions licking water off a tent from rain the night before. The lions appear to be completely indifferent to the tent’s occupants, or their bottle of Scotch.
The video was shot by Francie Francisca Lubbe earlier this month while camping at the Khiding campsite with her partner in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Botswana. While many would understandably be pretty shaken up by having a lion lick as an alarm clock, Lubbe described the occurrence as “a privilege.”
Poor thirsty lions—they should put out a big bowl of water for them.
h/t: Anne-Marie
Surprised the lions did not go for that bottle of Bell’s whisky.
No sensible animal would choose Bell’s.
The whiskey for Creationists then?
Naaaah. Too good for them. Teachers?
meow
Lion: This is the worst beast I’ve tasted yet! I hope it’s chewy once we like through!
I’m certain that there were some bodily sphincters that were pretty tight (or perhaps loose) during this: back in 1973 when I was young, dumb, and newly-married, my wife and I camped in a “walk-in” tent campground at Yosemite National Park. We didn’t even have a tent, just a tarp tied over us. It was a weekend and the college kids had come to the park to party and I heard a lot of noise and banging on pots down their way. When I sat up and looked, I saw the silhouette of a bear and its two cubs as they passed in front of a fire a few campsites down from us, headed in our direction. Needless to say, I began to feel VERY vulnerable and my heart started to see if it could pound its way out of my chest. As I lay there, I heard rustlings and snufflings around us, then the whole tarp began to shake as momma bear began scratching herself on one of the trees to which it was tied. Did I mention that we had foolishly brought a jar of honey with us, tied up in a nearby tree, or that my wife (who didn’t awaken during the entire incident) was on her period? The bear and cubs eventually wandered off and the honey jar was gone the next morning.
Yikes!
Hmmm, quick decision time. Play dead, or start making “I’m here but I’m not threatening” noises to encourage *Medvedovna to go somewhere else.
And once you’ve made your decisioin, stick to it.
(*Dog-Russian for “bear of the eat-your-head && female classes”, as opposed to cute little Mishka.)
Ohh, that link is going to challenge WordPress. Try this one.)
I made some teeshirts a few years ago for some friends. They featured my “diamond ring” photograph from August 1999, and the legend “have you slept through any good earthquakes recently – to commemorate a friend who did just that.
We had hippos stomp through our Zambia campground just about every night. They sound like Santa Claus laughing. “Ho ho ho!” Which was probably just as dangerous in hindsight given hippo temperament and aggression, but in terms of visuals and experience I would trade my hippo memories for their lion memories any day of the week!
I’ve heard that hippos kill more people in Africa every year than any other large animal.
So the Tokens were all wet when they claimed that in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight?
I had a couple uncles who would’ve licked their way through a tent for the chance to get on the outside of a fifth of hooch, too.
Wait a sec. Do lions like booze?
Carl Kruse
I remember reading that a large variety of animals, not just humans, enjoy ethanol. I was wondering myself how old that might be, since I know some birds seemingly deliberately get drunk. So, do, say, snakes?
Elephants are well known for it. I’ve heard it reputed amongst some monkeys and apes. Occasionally reported for cattle and windfall apples. There are probably other examples where fruit and herbivores coexist.
Cats don’t have a “sweet” taste receptor do they (uh oh, I’m tiptoeing into Matthew Cobb’s territory)? I wonder if a taste for alcohol and “sweet” receptors are associated?
There’s some hilarious videos on YouTube of animals, from ostriches to elephants, getting drunk on fermented fruit….
That would be simultaneously awe inspiring and scary as hell. I’d be hoping they weren’t as hungry as they were thirsty.