5 ms·

In Namibia, lions are king of the beach

108 points by bryanrasmussen 4y ago

steppi 4y ago
"When I was your age I was before the mast on a square rigged ship that ran to Africa and I have seen lions on the beaches in the evening." […] He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. Ernest Hemingway. The Old Man and the Sea. I’d read this long ago, and never gave a thought to it that this detail must have been rooted in reality. It’s interesting to learn what the lions were doing there.
- laxd 4y ago
  Holy smokes! I had the book recommended to me 15-ish years ago. Today I incidentally grabbed it from our book shelf and read half of it. The lion thing stood out to me. I've never heard of lions at a beach. And now this. There is something strange about this world. Maybe time to re-read what Jung said about synchronicities.
  - stjo 4y ago
    I’m sure it looks incredible from your point of view. But take a peak from my perspective: 1) someone writes something about lions (100% chance to happen, because someone is writing something all the time) 2) someone else quotes a popular book from a renowned author about the topic - nothing out of the ordinary 3) you, one of the thousands of readers of the quote mentioned above, started reading the same popular book today. Also, the first two happen across hundreds of posts daily on hacker news. Statistically it is not that exceptional. It still freaks me out whenever something similar happens to me :)
    - laxd 4y ago
      Yes, out of the uncountable unlikely coincidences, some are bound to happen. The comment was mostly a joke. Still, the evidence keeps piling up - that you're all just agents in a humorous world that revolves around me :)
      - harry8 4y ago
        Nah dude, it's me, I'm the center and comments like yours are just trying to cast doubt in my mind by pretending all you NPCs have the same thougt so it must be delusion... Take that for a response, Matrix! :)
        gregvab 4y ago
        I love it when the NPCs in my life story become half-sentient to make my day a bit better.
  - sharadov 4y ago
    It's the Baader Meinhof Phenomenon https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/baader-meinhof-phenomenon.htm https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human...
shswkna 4y ago
This way of managing the balance between the needs of wildlife and the wants of humans, stands out in a world where normally the animals (and plants) have to give way to fulfil the desires and safety needs of humans. May it remain so.
duxup 4y ago
I really don’t think of lions and the beach much but it also occurs to me “why not?” It’s interesting how we visualize things in our minds to be specific settings.
- mdp2021 4y ago
  > why not Because typical preys don't drink saltwater.
  - mc32 4y ago
    Right and they only went there when their normal prey (ungulates) became scarce so facing starvation they opted to hunt for shore animals like seals and birds that frequent the seashore.
    - armadsen 4y ago
      That's a bit of a simplification of what the article reports, which is that desert lions were there before being driven out by nearby farmers in 2002. They came back because of the drought and lack of non-marine prey. Seems likely that there have been lions there for a very long time, which sort of by definition means that they're adapted for living there, even if that adaptation was spurred by difficulty in getting "normal" prey.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    Not quite saltwater, but close. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_lick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_lick There are man made salt licks on safaris so tourists have a greater chance to see a predator, and possibly even a hunt since the prey is gathered there.
  - tiedieconderoga 4y ago
    Cats are pretty well adapted to water despite the stereotypes, and fish are typical prey for many species. Tigers famously live along deltas, there are spotted wildcats which live in mangroves called "fishing cats", flat-headed cats stalk the waters around the Gulf of Thailand, even Pallas Cats have been known to go fishing in the steppes. Although, according to the article these lions started eating birds that live along the coastline because their usual mammalian prey are dying off from drought. It's pretty common for birds, especially migratory ones, to hang around saltwater while they feed on things like algae and small shellfish.
someuser54541 4y ago
They better be careful. Once the fish get a taste for lion, they may establish a beachhead, and construct a breathing apparatus, perhaps of kelp, to hunt down the remaining members of the pride. It may not go the way the lions think it'll go.
- finnh 4y ago
  Will the breathing apparatus work indefinitely? No, but 30, 40 minutes sure. More than enough time
- galacticaactual 4y ago
  …what?
  - jccalhoun 4y ago
    its a reference to a scene in The Other Guys https://youtu.be/aDJgv1iARPg https://youtu.be/aDJgv1iARPg
sgt 4y ago
They just need to watch out for aggressive schools of tuna.
- sgt 4y ago
  Nobody caught this reference.
xvedejas 4y ago
On the remote beaches of western Latvia, in the sand are frequent paw tracks left by wolves. I wondered whether they were able to hunt any sea life, or if it is just an easy travel path alongside the pine forests that are immediately alongside the beach.
- glonq 4y ago
  Canada also has "sea wolves" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Coastal_Sea_wolf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Coastal_Sea_wolf
rramadass 4y ago
It is criminal that the article does not mention the fantastic "must watch" National Geographic documentary : Survivors of the Skeleton Coast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce09ZygnMLg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce09ZygnMLg The only video that i know of where you can see a Lion feeding on a Whale carcass on the beach!
- traeregan 4y ago
  That is quite wild, thanks! Here's a direct link to that part of the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce09ZygnMLg&t=1435s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce09ZygnMLg&t=1435s
  - rramadass 4y ago
    Nature documentaries and in particular rare ones like these deserve wider dissemination and recognition. This particular scene made such an impression on me when i first saw it that it has always stayed with me. It is a reminder that our Planet still has amazing secrets for us to discover.
armadsen 4y ago
I visited the Skeleton Coast in 2021 for a couple days. It's just an incredible other-worldly place (well lots of Namibia is like that, really). I had no idea at the time that lions had started coming back. There's a massive colony of Cape fur seals there (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cross https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cross). There are also desert adapted elephants in Namibia. We had a local tour guide take us out to find them, which was one of the wildest, most interesting experiences I've ever had.
- technothrasher 4y ago
  I never made it to the Skeleton Coast, but being out on the sand dunes in the middle of nowhere in the Namib desert was one of the most surreal things I've ever experienced. It felt like I was on Mars, except for the incredibly deep blue sky.
  - armadsen 4y ago
    I'm lucky in that the family I married into is strongly connected to Namibia. My wife lived there when she was young, and her family goes back regularly, so I've been able to tag along with them. Getting introduced to that place -- somewhere I likely never would have known otherwise -- is one of the (many) things that makes me feel grateful for my life and my wife. Well, well worth a visit. Southern Africa has its problems like anywhere, but it's a really special place in the world.
- esel2k 4y ago
  I recommend Namibia too, and especially the skeleton coast for a different experience than the most visited parts (dunes, safari parks). Driving on the skeleton coast lead to the experience to drive for 5-6 hours without meeting any other car. Having that feeling of driving in a beautiful- though extremely dry- spot on this planet with nobody around for 100s of kilometers is an amazing feeling. The cap fur seals make funny - fart-like noises and it is quiet smelly - but funny experience.
modriano 4y ago
Nominally related: Ocean Conservation Namibia [0] is one of the most oddly soothing and satisfying YouTube channels I've ever discovered. These guys sprint across beaches to catch sea lions that have fishing lines/debris around their necks and cut the debris away. Highly recommend. [0] https://www.youtube.com/@OceanConservationNamibia https://www.youtube.com/@OceanConservationNamibia
gavin_gee 4y ago
Namibia is one of the most incredibly diverse countries in the world. And as a new to Africa tourist its super easy to get a flavor of this magical continent.
- Prbeek 4y ago
  Not to forget the first genocide of the twentieth century where the Germans wiped out the local Herero tribe
- daxfohl 4y ago
  And few tourists and the roads are nice. You can go rent a car, drive to a national park, hang out by a watering hole with a ton of wildlife, and have the whole thing largely to yourself. Completely different experience from Kenya and Tanzania. (at least, 20 years ago when I went).

"When I was your age I was before the mast on a square rigged ship that ran to Africa and I have seen lions on the beaches in the evening." […] He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. Ernest Hemingway. The Old Man and the Sea. I’d read this long ago, and never gave a thought to it that this detail must have been rooted in reality. It’s interesting to learn what the lions were doing there.

laxd 4y ago
Holy smokes! I had the book recommended to me 15-ish years ago. Today I incidentally grabbed it from our book shelf and read half of it. The lion thing stood out to me. I've never heard of lions at a beach. And now this. There is something strange about this world. Maybe time to re-read what Jung said about synchronicities.
- stjo 4y ago
  I’m sure it looks incredible from your point of view. But take a peak from my perspective: 1) someone writes something about lions (100% chance to happen, because someone is writing something all the time) 2) someone else quotes a popular book from a renowned author about the topic - nothing out of the ordinary 3) you, one of the thousands of readers of the quote mentioned above, started reading the same popular book today. Also, the first two happen across hundreds of posts daily on hacker news. Statistically it is not that exceptional. It still freaks me out whenever something similar happens to me :)
  - laxd 4y ago
    Yes, out of the uncountable unlikely coincidences, some are bound to happen. The comment was mostly a joke. Still, the evidence keeps piling up - that you're all just agents in a humorous world that revolves around me :)
    - harry8 4y ago
      Nah dude, it's me, I'm the center and comments like yours are just trying to cast doubt in my mind by pretending all you NPCs have the same thougt so it must be delusion... Take that for a response, Matrix! :)
      - gregvab 4y ago
        I love it when the NPCs in my life story become half-sentient to make my day a bit better.
- sharadov 4y ago
  It's the Baader Meinhof Phenomenon https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/baader-meinhof-phenomenon.htm https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human...

shswkna 4y ago

This way of managing the balance between the needs of wildlife and the wants of humans, stands out in a world where normally the animals (and plants) have to give way to fulfil the desires and safety needs of humans. May it remain so.

duxup 4y ago

I really don’t think of lions and the beach much but it also occurs to me “why not?” It’s interesting how we visualize things in our minds to be specific settings.

mdp2021 4y ago
> why not Because typical preys don't drink saltwater.
- mc32 4y ago
  Right and they only went there when their normal prey (ungulates) became scarce so facing starvation they opted to hunt for shore animals like seals and birds that frequent the seashore.
  - armadsen 4y ago
    That's a bit of a simplification of what the article reports, which is that desert lions were there before being driven out by nearby farmers in 2002. They came back because of the drought and lack of non-marine prey. Seems likely that there have been lions there for a very long time, which sort of by definition means that they're adapted for living there, even if that adaptation was spurred by difficulty in getting "normal" prey.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  Not quite saltwater, but close. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_lick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_lick There are man made salt licks on safaris so tourists have a greater chance to see a predator, and possibly even a hunt since the prey is gathered there.
- tiedieconderoga 4y ago
  Cats are pretty well adapted to water despite the stereotypes, and fish are typical prey for many species. Tigers famously live along deltas, there are spotted wildcats which live in mangroves called "fishing cats", flat-headed cats stalk the waters around the Gulf of Thailand, even Pallas Cats have been known to go fishing in the steppes. Although, according to the article these lions started eating birds that live along the coastline because their usual mammalian prey are dying off from drought. It's pretty common for birds, especially migratory ones, to hang around saltwater while they feed on things like algae and small shellfish.

someuser54541 4y ago

They better be careful. Once the fish get a taste for lion, they may establish a beachhead, and construct a breathing apparatus, perhaps of kelp, to hunt down the remaining members of the pride. It may not go the way the lions think it'll go.

finnh 4y ago
Will the breathing apparatus work indefinitely? No, but 30, 40 minutes sure. More than enough time
galacticaactual 4y ago
…what?
- jccalhoun 4y ago
  its a reference to a scene in The Other Guys https://youtu.be/aDJgv1iARPg https://youtu.be/aDJgv1iARPg

sgt 4y ago

They just need to watch out for aggressive schools of tuna.

sgt 4y ago
Nobody caught this reference.

xvedejas 4y ago

On the remote beaches of western Latvia, in the sand are frequent paw tracks left by wolves. I wondered whether they were able to hunt any sea life, or if it is just an easy travel path alongside the pine forests that are immediately alongside the beach.

glonq 4y ago
Canada also has "sea wolves" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Coastal_Sea_wolf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Coastal_Sea_wolf

rramadass 4y ago

It is criminal that the article does not mention the fantastic "must watch" National Geographic documentary : Survivors of the Skeleton Coast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce09ZygnMLg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce09ZygnMLg The only video that i know of where you can see a Lion feeding on a Whale carcass on the beach!

traeregan 4y ago
That is quite wild, thanks! Here's a direct link to that part of the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce09ZygnMLg&t=1435s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce09ZygnMLg&t=1435s
- rramadass 4y ago
  Nature documentaries and in particular rare ones like these deserve wider dissemination and recognition. This particular scene made such an impression on me when i first saw it that it has always stayed with me. It is a reminder that our Planet still has amazing secrets for us to discover.

armadsen 4y ago

I visited the Skeleton Coast in 2021 for a couple days. It's just an incredible other-worldly place (well lots of Namibia is like that, really). I had no idea at the time that lions had started coming back. There's a massive colony of Cape fur seals there (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cross https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cross). There are also desert adapted elephants in Namibia. We had a local tour guide take us out to find them, which was one of the wildest, most interesting experiences I've ever had.

technothrasher 4y ago
I never made it to the Skeleton Coast, but being out on the sand dunes in the middle of nowhere in the Namib desert was one of the most surreal things I've ever experienced. It felt like I was on Mars, except for the incredibly deep blue sky.
- armadsen 4y ago
  I'm lucky in that the family I married into is strongly connected to Namibia. My wife lived there when she was young, and her family goes back regularly, so I've been able to tag along with them. Getting introduced to that place -- somewhere I likely never would have known otherwise -- is one of the (many) things that makes me feel grateful for my life and my wife. Well, well worth a visit. Southern Africa has its problems like anywhere, but it's a really special place in the world.
esel2k 4y ago
I recommend Namibia too, and especially the skeleton coast for a different experience than the most visited parts (dunes, safari parks). Driving on the skeleton coast lead to the experience to drive for 5-6 hours without meeting any other car. Having that feeling of driving in a beautiful- though extremely dry- spot on this planet with nobody around for 100s of kilometers is an amazing feeling. The cap fur seals make funny - fart-like noises and it is quiet smelly - but funny experience.

modriano 4y ago

Nominally related: Ocean Conservation Namibia [0] is one of the most oddly soothing and satisfying YouTube channels I've ever discovered. These guys sprint across beaches to catch sea lions that have fishing lines/debris around their necks and cut the debris away. Highly recommend. [0] https://www.youtube.com/@OceanConservationNamibia https://www.youtube.com/@OceanConservationNamibia

gavin_gee 4y ago

Namibia is one of the most incredibly diverse countries in the world. And as a new to Africa tourist its super easy to get a flavor of this magical continent.

Prbeek 4y ago
Not to forget the first genocide of the twentieth century where the Germans wiped out the local Herero tribe
daxfohl 4y ago
And few tourists and the roads are nice. You can go rent a car, drive to a national park, hang out by a watering hole with a ton of wildlife, and have the whole thing largely to yourself. Completely different experience from Kenya and Tanzania. (at least, 20 years ago when I went).