
Never Mess With An Angry Baboon!
This Baboon yelled at us on our safari for daring to sit out on our terrace…but this was just the beginning of our Baboon interaction.

This Baboon turned out to be a nemesis to a pack of SEVENTEEN Lions!
Yes, our safari morning in the Okavango Delta of Botswana began when we came upon a pack of Lions!

A few were sleeping, and a couple of adorable Lion Cubs wandered around seeking affection – take a look:
Serene, right?
Well, it started out that way, but watch this video and see who is lurking in the distance:
Those are Baboons, who are watching carefully to see what the Lions are up to – because those Baboons will soon begin warning other animals that danger lurks…and that annoyed the Lions, who headed over to quiet one Baboon down! Watch this video: at :14 seconds, you hear the Baboon “bark” out a warning!
Those Lions may have thought they were going to scare the noisy Baboon off, except what happened was this: the Baboon slides down the tree trunk, barks at the Lions, then climbs to the top of a palm tree, checking the strength of the tree branches as well! Watch:
That Baboon was shaking the branches to make sure they were strong enough to hold him, and also to be able to drop fruit onto the Lion’s heads! Watch closely as it happens:
Yes, the Baboon was pelting the Lions with tree branches and fruit! And when the Lions scattered, the Baboon shimmied down the tree and began barking at them again – taunting them!

Over the course of the next half hour, the Baboon continued to torment the Lions, who waited patiently below for any mistake the Baboon made.
Finally, the Baboon committed the ultimate act of defiance and disrespect: he pooped on them! Watch close again at the very beginning of the video!
That seemed to demoralize the Lions, who admitted defeat and moved on – and the arrogant Baboon came down from the tree and strutted around like a conquering Hero – but they are really annoying creatures! Maybe next time the tables will turn!
I have shared a lot of small videos here, but I also posted the entire story in a mini-documentary, which you can see here:
This wild Baboon encounter was the end of a spectacular day of safari adventures…which began when we found that pride of SEVENTEEN Lions!

There were so many we couldn’t get them all in one shot!
Click here for lots of video of the Lions, plus wild dogs and rare spotted Hyenas too!
I also just shared our crazy encounter with an “Elephant In Musth”:

That Elephant is in “musth” – and those are our Mokoro canoes in the march in front of him. Guess who didn’t go on a canoe right that day?
Clcik here for the story, and who won the face off!

The Okavango Delta marches were also a great hangout for Hippos as well!
Yep, this Hippo was excited to see us! Click here for our cool Hippo encounter:
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Categories: Africa, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, nature, safari, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
You were VERY close to the lions. Too close for comfort. Great shots.
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Strangely, we weren’t really worried but we WERE very close…they just don’t consider anything in a Jeep to be food – their food in straight ahead of them on the ground, always running form them! I learned the best advice about a safari: “don’t run. FOOD runs!”
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Food runs… that’s funny
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How scary to see so many lions out in the wild like that!
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I look at the video now and wonder why we weren’t more nervous – but the Guide was so expert at his job that he made us feel safe under his guidance…on some of the videos I’m surprised how many times we had our arms outside the jeep! It was really incredible….thanks for the comment!
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Haha, baboons and vervet monkeys are intelligent and naughty. They will steal food right off the tables. What a fun story to share.
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It was so much fun to see and we made great friends with the other 3 inner jeep that day!
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💛🌼
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I’d never want to mess with an angry baboon!
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No, Jennie, they are ferocious! Thanks for the note!
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Yikes! You’re welcome, John, always a pleasure.
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I had heard that baboons could be a pain in the butt….great stuff here…..I am so envious but old….LOL chuq
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Well, my wife HATED them…they were doing all they could to disrupt the Lions, who just wanted to sleep…there was nothing to warn the other animals about – and that Baboon never let up until the Lions decided to find someplace else to crash…it was so funny to watch! Thanks for the note!
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Irritating little turds…..LOL chuq
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I now understand why my mom used to tell us, “Don’t be a baboon — settle down.” LOL!
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LOL chuq
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HA! Love that!
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HA!
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Incredible videos, John! What an amazing thing to witness!
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John – I absolutely loved this story . . . actually you have stopped a busy morning for a while whilst I look again and then repost to a few sets of friends! I adore monkeys of any kind and so wish I could have been ‘there’ in person 🙂 !!!
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the animal kingdom is lucky to have the baboons as the ‘watchdogs’
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Well done to the baboon for defending his territory and driving off the potentially dangerous pride. 🐒
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, it was fascinating to watch, and we learned that Baboons are the “fire alarms” for all animals in the area to know a predator is around!
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That was very entertaining!
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Thank you for reading and commenting!
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