Tag Archives: Lion

The lady that stops traffic

This lioness was using the bridge outside Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park as her own personal catwalk, settling down to give her adoring fans some close up views of her beauty – and I was lucky to get a front-row seat!

Lioness on her way to the bridge at Lower Sabie

Weighing up her options

The Queen of Lower Sabie

Lioness on the bridge with her adoring fans

Lioness on the bridge at Lower Sabie

But lions aren’t always such show-offs – sometimes they like to keep their distance, and other times they lie hidden in plain sight…

Lions in the grass next to the Crocodile River

Well-hidden Lion

The King and Prime Minister of Imfolozi

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This morning we spent some time with two magnificent male lions in the far western reaches of Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

One of them was bruised and battered with battle scars all over his body. Obviously he’s the enforcer for the King; the light-maned male with the relatively unscathed hide and face.

Sadly, today was our final full day here at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi. Tomorrow we only have the distance between here at Mpila Camp and the Memorial Gate to savour this pristine wilderness one last time before heading back to Pretoria.

Alone time with the King of Beasts

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A week ago, on an early morning drive along the Sand River near Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, this magnificent male lion popped out of the thickets to patrol and mark his territory along the road.

Sand River Lion

After spending quite a bit of time with him as he walked at pace along the river road, mostly within arm’s length of the vehicle, another car arrived on the scene, and I drove off in order to allow them the thrill of some alone time with The King as well.

Kings of Addo

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Two male lions waited for us next to the road as we were driving from Addo‘s new, soon to be opened Nyathi Camp early on Friday morning. We may only have spent a few minutes in their audience, but the experience will remain a thrilling memory forever.

Kings of Addo, seen near Addo’s new Nyathi Camp

Kings of Addo

Lion Kings of Addo

Kings of Addo

Get lost!

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Ever wondered what a lion’s face looks like when you disturb him and his lady love?

Like this!

Get out of my face

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World Lion Day

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The 10th of August has been designated World Lion Day; “An independant campaign working to highlight the importance of the lion globally and to raise lion conservation awareness worldwide“.

These regal creatures are under immense threat, highlighted by the recent “hunting” of Cecil, a Zimbabwean lion known around the world and one of the subjects of a lion research project that’s been running for many years. Sadly, Cecil’s death was not an isolated incident and many more of his species die in this fashion daily. Hopefully, the quite justified uproar over the killing of this specific individual will result in change for the better, ensuring a brighter future for Africa’s biggest cat.

It will be a sad day indeed when the lion’s roar no longer rumbles across Africa’s wild places.

Last year we dedicated a special blogpost to the lion on World Lion Day.

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi’s tree climbing lions

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Lions are not generally known for their tree-climbing abilities, and there’s only a handful of prides on the African continent that seem to have this skill and regularly use it. We’ve often heard of Hluhluwe-Imfolozi‘s lions‘ tree-climbing tendencies, but we never saw this for ourselves, despite visiting the Park frequently and enjoying many sightings of these regal cats there.

That is until early morning on Boxing Day 2014, and what an unbelievable sight! We found a lioness (on the ground) with two rather large cubs in a small thorn tree. I did not think that something as big as a lion could get so high up in a flimsy-looking thorn tree, and then be so well camouflaged at that!