In some areas, it can be particularly valuable to explore with a local guide. For us, Busanga Plains is a perfect example of this. The area is enormous, and the lions can easily hide in the tall grass or among the bushes. A good guide also knows where to look and can recognise the different prides and individual animals.

Here, we set out with Histon Samatamba. Not only did he manage to find remarkably many lions and cubs that we would probably have driven past ourselves, he also knew the stories behind the animals we saw. He told us about the different prides, the males that lead the groups and the changes that take place within the groups over the years.

He also told us the story of Princess of Busanga, one of the area’s best-known lionesses.

According to Histon, Princess owes her name to her remarkable history as a mother. She has mated with several males during her lifetime and has therefore had a large number of cubs, remarkably many of which have survived. This is unusual, because the lives of young lions are anything but straightforward.

A lion pride is not a static family. Young males eventually leave their natal group, often together with brothers or other males with whom they form a coalition. Later, new coalitions may challenge the adult males of a pride and take over their position.

This can have major consequences for the cubs. When new males take over a pride, they may kill cubs that are not their own. Lionesses therefore often mate with several males. This makes it more difficult for a male to determine which cubs are his, potentially reducing the chance that he will kill cubs when he takes over a pride.

According to Histon, this is precisely an important part of Princess’s story. By mating with different males, she has not only had many cubs, but has also seen a remarkable number of her offspring grow up.

Her story beautifully shows why a guide adds so much in an area like Busanga. Without Histon, we would probably have seen a number of lions. Thanks to him, we also learned who we were looking at and what story lay behind those animals.

And perhaps that is the best thing about safari: when lions are no longer simply lions, but individuals with a name, a history and their own place within a complex social group. Princess, Killing Machine, Scarface, Nervous, Queen... Suddenly, you look at the animals in front of you in a completely different way.

Kafue National Park & Busanga Plains and Zambia’s lions