African Lions

He has been called the King of the Jungle and the King of Beasts. He is the noble and glorious lion.

His radiant, golden mane, though sometimes darkened mane, is a brilliant reflection of glory. He is the symbol of pride and strength, and he is fearless and courageous. His powerful roar, which can be heard up to five miles way, echoes throughout the vastness of Africa, where he must endure merciless heat and withstand the onslaught of the many other wild animals that inhabit his territory. The snickering, scavenging Hyenas, one of his greatest enemies, attempt to torment him day and night; they steal his food, persecute old and weakened lions, and often kill defenseless lion cubs.

He must also avoid the merciless steel-trap jaws of the crocodiles which slyly lurk in some of the nearby waters, being kicked by the tallest of all mammals, the elegant giraffe, and the powerful, piercing horns of the thick-skinned Rhinoceros. Yet in spite of his daily suffering, he remains dignified, fearless, and devoted to his family, the "pride," and is agile and quick at catching his prey.

Steve Shames, wildlife photographer, described in detail his personal experience with some of the big cats:

"We were only in Ngorongoro Crater for one day, and saw several lionesses. One of them did a mock charge on a herd of wildebeest, but quickly called it off, they were too far off.

After we had left Ngorongoro Crater, we saw two big male lions just after we entered Serengeti Park. It was in the middle of the day, and it was warm, probably in the high 80’s or low 90’s. They were the biggest lions we saw on that trip, and they were certainly in the prime of their life. We sat for several minutes, in the minivan with the popup roof. Most animals completely ignore us, but one lion did get up and walked over to a different spot.

The next year we went to Zimbabwe and Botswana, it was at Moremi Game Reserve at the Okavango Delta in Botswana where we saw the lion kill. It is quite unusual to observe a lion kill, since they do most of their hunting at night, so we were quite lucky.

We parked our open Land-rover for a moment, and then we saw two lionesses slowly walking along, totally ignoring us. Our guide said one of them had cubs stashed away nearby. One of them had half her tail bit off, most likely by hyenas, our guide said.

They would just walk a few yards, then sit for minute looking around, then walk a little more, our guide said they were on the hunt. We started up the Land-rover and followed them through a path further into the bush. We parked right next to them while they still ignored us. We then saw a male Kudu slowly come into the picture, he was quickly spotted by the lionesses. We kept very silent as we watched both lionesses stalk and pounce on the Kudu, it was in thick bush, so it was hard to follow and it happened so quick. One lioness anchored her claws into the hindquarters and wrestled it to the ground. The other lionesses joined in, and it was two or three minutes until the kudu stopped moving. A warthog came by to take a look, but did not get too close."

Thanks to Steve Shames for sharing his true lion story, and for allowing me to use one of his wild lion photos.

http://www.steveshamesphotos.com/