Lions at dusk, Tanzania

The microphones were set metres away from the lions as the light dropped off and the temperature shifted. The lions are close. This is by far the most dangerous recording I have ever done. Their voices hold weight, spreading slowly across the savannah, overlapping in uneven intervals. There is a sense of space in the gaps between each call. What carries first is distance, low frequency calls moving across open ground, travelling further than expected in the cooling air.

This was not a controlled recording. The position was exposed, visibility was low, and movement nearby could not always be placed. The decision was deliberate but dangerous, but the outcome was worth it.

If you listen beyond the foreground, there are secondary layers: hyenas further out, thinner and more erratic in pitch, and closer still, intermittent movement from baboons, short, nervous gestures in the mid range.

Well, the sound of a savannah at its best.

Recorded in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania by Rafael Diogo.

Photo by Keyur Nandaniya on Unsplash.