THE STORY OF TAAI, MY LION SON

A time when my heart used to walk around outside of me.

Today is Taai’s 4^th birthday. I actually had to count the years this morning because although I woke up knowing that it is his 4^th birthday, I couldn’t believe it. How have 4 whole years gone by since he came into my life?

Taai

On the 26^th October 2013 a Lioness called Angel of Fire gave birth to 6 cubs. This is considered a large litter. Lions only have 4 nipples so 4 of the 6 cubs would comfortably suckle at one time whilst two would hungrily root around for a teat but only get to drink if they could nudge another cub off or the other cub had had enough and abandoned her spot.

 

For the first few days it seemed to be evenly matched with all cubs getting a chance to feed. But as the days progressed, Angel Of Fire would only allow 4 cubs to suckle, with no particular preference, she’d lie still whilst the first 4 cubs latched on but would quickly stand up and shake them all off when the 5^th cub arrived.  Within 2 days it became apparent that 4 of the cubs were growing stronger whilst more and more often, as the other 2 weakened, they would become the last to find their mother and so the pattern escalated until on day 7, one of the cubs died. For the next 3 days we watched as the 5^th cub became more consistently the last to find his mother. He grew weaker. At first he screamed more, but as he grew weaker so his cries became whimpers and then stopped. On day 10 he simply seemed to stay in one spot well away from Angel of Fire and his 4 stronger siblings. 

Shortly before sunset on the 6^th of November (just after we unloaded 6 heavily pregnant dead giraffes – but that is another story); Angel Of fire walked over to Cub Number 5 and lay down next to him. Relieved, we thought he was going to get his much delayed drink of mother's milk, he squirmed his way over to her and tried to raise himself to find a teat. All of a sudden Angel Of Fire swiped at him sending him reeling. I decided to pick him up. Thulani and I drove into the enclosure, Stripey the father of the cubs positioned himself on a little grassy knoll while Angel of Fire followed by the 4 cubs retreated into the long grass. Cub Number 5 began furiously scrambling off but in the opposite direction from the rest. Thulani positioned the bakkie in between cub 5 and the others, he then opened the drivers door and scooped the cub up and handed him to me. Claws scratching into me, the cub hungrily began rooting on me.

I took him into my house and made him a bottle. It is not easy feeding a cub who is used to the natural teat of his own mother. One also has to simulate licking (which is done with a wet cloth) in order to get them to poo. This too is difficult when the cub is used to the natural stimulation from the mother. It took the rest of that night for the hungry cub to settle into a good solid sucking motion and to finish his bottle. We tiredly settled into sleep. The first night of what was to become 529 nights that he spent in my arms.

I took him with me when I would stay at my boyfriend, Leon’s house. Leon is Afrikaans so we decided to give the cub an Afrikaans name. Shanéad was inspired to name him Taai when she saw an Afrikaans Toyota advert picturing a white Hilux bakkie like mine with a blonde woman and her lion with the slogan `Forever Tough`. Taai means tough or sticky in Afrikaans.

Taai stuck by my side from then on. There was a great deal of sibling rivalry between my human children and Taai, but my dogs were very attached to Taai. Although there was a day when we had an unbelievably harsh hail storm and Taiga my eldest child held Taai in her arms to keep him from panicking.

Taiga and Taai

Micah and Taai

I renovated the ex-taxidermy/butchery on the farm into a cottage for me so that Taai could live with me whilst my 3 teenage children stayed in our house about 15m away from my new cottage. I added a floor length window into my bedroom for Taai to use as an entrance or exit. The very first thing I had to do every morning was let him out because if I went to the bathroom before shutting him out, he’d squat next to me in the bathroom and have a Victoria falls wee on the floor next to the mirror. I don’t know if you’ve experienced a lion wee, but it is dark yellow, malodorous and dries into crystals which are hard to clean up.

Unlike other lions I have lived with, Taai didn’t break anything in my cottage. He had a faux fur bedspread that he would vigorously suck, which did get a little bit worn, but other than that nothing in my cottage was bumped, chewed or clawed. He did cause a bit of havoc if he managed to get into the kids’ house or when I was not at home he’d open the doors of the top house so everyone had to keep the doors locked. Taai could open all types of door and window handles both inwards and outwards. He did tackle a wildebeest skin on the floor in the top house once and he chewed up my pewter covered journal from 2006 when I stupidly left it where malevolent people could seize it.

Taai was pretty much always at my side

Being an only child, well an only lion child, Taai was quite spoiled and was perhaps a little possessive over me. My human children avoided or evaded him as the case may be; so his friend group was made up of the dogs. I have a strict rule against playing with lions, this does not mean I didn't give him copious amounts of love, I simply don't become his equal in play, because I would end up dead. Instead I remain firmly superior on the hierarchical scale which lions adhere to (and challenge every so often). I wished for him to have another lion to play with but I couldn’t return him to his siblings until he was older and I wouldn’t take another lion away from his family unnecessarily nor would I buy a lion. 

 

Family supper

We had no electricity for nearly a month, Taai keeping me company while I sketched

Shanéad, Micah and Taai

Rhoan, Taai, Jazz and Micah

He would follow the dogs when they ran down to the dam to swim, but be completely perplexed when they launched themselves into the water. He paced up and down mewling in a bemused whine until I dived in to the water with the dogs, at which time he’d shake his head and leap in behind me. Being that he was a summer baby he became quite familiar with the water and would regularly swim with the dogs even if I wasn’t swimming. When I did lengths in the swimming pool at the farm, he’d run up and down alongside of me but didn’t jump in as there was no staircase nor shallow end to climb out of so he and the dogs never swam in that pool.

Stop for a kiss

Doing lengths

What's up with these canines and repeatedly fetching a stick ?

Swimming with Coco and Zilla

Prior to Taai’s arrival in my life, Leon had never wanted anything to do with the lions and refused to listen to me if I spoke of different lions by name. Leon knew that the life of a lion in captivity was destined to be short and unhappy so he disapproved of keeping lions at all. But Taai crept into his heart until Leon was completely smitten. Taai would climb onto Leon’s lap and suck his thumb as a substitute for his faux fur blankie at my cottage. 

 

Taai sucking Leon's thumb

Unlike any other lion I had known before or have known since, Taai was gentle even if I lay down on the ground. The other lions would plonk themselves down on top of me or try to grab me. Taai would simply lie down and place his head or paw on my chest or stomach. He had a unique character and gentleness about him, in fact he was more of a scaredy cat than an attack cat and would hide away when other people approached.

Taai resting his not un-heavy head on me

Or sometimes I'd lay my head on him

Taai had never been kept in an individual enclosure as he was basically inside of one large fenced off area as the entire homestead was surrounded 360 degrees by electrically fenced lion camps. Walking in and out of the house at will and following me or the dogs, he had never experienced an electric shock until the day that he lost me.  

On our last day together, I spent 4 hours with him in 'the cub camp' which is a small area wedged between the concrete parking lot next to the Top House, the shed and 3 larger adult lion camps. He had been put in there when I was away in hospital. He was to stay in that cub camp for the next 2 years.

I had never previously thought about the concept of ownership of Taai as an actuality because he wasn’t an item of livestock which could be owned. But Leon had. He had worried tirelessly about who actually owned Taai. When he forced me to face the issue, I told him I believed that Taai 'belonged' to the business which was owned 50/50 by Tracy Shannon and myself. Leon made an offer to Tracy to pay her 50% of Taai’s commercial value so that he and I would own Taai on paper. Tracy exclaimed in shock that Taai was my child. She questioned how Leon could buy Taai, saying the offer was akin to someone asking to buy her daughter. But even though I had this conversation on a recorded call, it turned out that on paper I had no ownership of him. So when he was locked in an electrified cage and I was locked out of the farm after I disagreed with Tracy over her new plan to breed and sell lions, I was prohibited from seeing him or taking him to the safe place I had arranged for him. I fought a court battle for the next 1015 days before gaining ownership of him on paper and waited another 40 days before all the logistics had been taken care of and I saw him again.

Taai on his way to LLA

Taai sedated, being checked by the vet before loading into a box to travel to LLA

He grew a proper mane while I was not looking. 
He most likely roared for the first time whilst I was not looking. He took over a month to emit more than a squeak when trying to roar here. He still sometimes only squeaks when trying to roar.

Taai is changed and remains aloof and alone. He did recognise me and he does make his soft mewling lion sounds to me when I go around to the back of his 1.7Ha enclosure to sit quietly next to his fence. 
He has not once looked me in the eye.  (addition - it is now January 2024 and he still has not made eye contact)

The above photo is the first photo I took of him when we saw each other after his release at Love Lions Alive Sanctuary. He stood still half looking at me but unsure. Then Micah barked and Taai began shaking, frantically licking his lips and breathing very fast and heavily. He moved his head to touch the fence where Micah was and made a sound of deep sadness. He followed Micah’s movements on the other side of the fence and then, both Micah and Taai rolled onto their backs, talking in an animal way that I was not privileged to understand.

The point of LLA Sanctuary is not to live with lions in our home but for them to have habitats which are as natural as possible and to live as they, the lions choose. Most of the lions here are not at all interested in people and I respect that. It was always my intention to let him have a large safe environment in which to be himself. And now he does. I only see him when he climbs on a boulder or comes for food. He has vistas to look upon and room to run. Private spaces to hide and a lion friend to sleep next to.

 Each day that we were apart, my heart existed outside of my body. At every sunset I would look out to the West from my tented camp, across the 35km between us and I promised him that I would not give up, that even if I died trying, I would not leave him behind. It’s been good to have my heart back, but we both bear the scars from that day that I left him without explanation or apology.

 

Tough love

On my return from a Johannesburg trip

On my return from a Knysna trip