There is nothing more regal than the profile of an adult lion…except King Charles III perhaps?
Showing years of experience and battle scars to prove why he is King of all her surveys. Including this pride, which was 26 strong when we saw it.
Unlike the current English Monarch, whose biggest enemies might be the anti-royalty brigade, lions have to constantly be aware of nomadic males trying to take over their territory and lure the females away. Fights can be brutal and often end in death.
However, while the going is good and there is a plentiful supply of food, all is well in the kingdom.
One day I might be King.
Unlike Charles who had to wait 70 years for his Mummy, The Queen, to die, before inheriting the crown, this youngster might one day have to fight to wrestle the title from many other contenders from both within and outside of his pride.
This look from a young lion of this size is cute…
From an adult, frightening.
For now, discretion is the better part of valour and this cub was pretending to be a ‘flat cat’.
Lions seem to have an affinity for elephant dung. They will roll in it, they will play in it and given half a chance, they might use it as a pillow.
I have seen members of a pride of all ages take part in this behaviour and having discussed this behaviour with experts, the conclusion is “Ask the cats”.
It could be that the cats are using this behaviour to mask their scent, giving them an advantage when hunting. But that is not a definitive behaviour and is only a possible theory. (Lee Gutteridge)
It is a behaviour that is common among Carnivora. It could be seen as Nature’s aftershave, as it were. In cats, fish, certain plants and high moisture herbivore dung is mostly preferred. The more sociable the species, the more they indulge in this – hence, the high incidence of this behaviour in lions. (Bennet de Klerk)
The counting of the youngsters.
An important part of pride life is the fact that the cubs need to be monitored as they can become prey for other predator species.
Follow me…
With full tummies and new lessons learned, the entire pride abandoned what was left of the carcass they had been feeding on for three days and headed off in search of new prey and experiences.
This was the final view that we had of the pride as they crossed a road and headed off into an adjacent reserve where we were unable to follow.
We had an extraordinary three days where we were able to share time with this group of apex predators
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