It is difficult to believe that lions are the only, truly social cats in the world, especially when you see how they feed together. There is nothing social about this gathering, it becomes a free for all and everyone for themselves. This can turn into a truly violent and aggressive act especially as the carcass starts to diminish down to mere bones and sinew.

The inspiration for this blog came from a recent sighting my guests and I witnessed. We spent close on two hours with the Southern Pride and their cubs as they finished off a buffalo carcass around sunset. Lions will spend close on 18 to 20 hours a day relaxing and not really doing too much, so as it starts to get cooler before sunset, you always stand a chance of seeing activity. All the commotion started when one of the cubs started moving in on the remains, which one of the adult females was busy feeding on. As the cub started moving closer, with an already pronounced belly I might add, the female gave a few snarls and aggressive vocalisation towards the youngster.

The cub showed submissive behaviour, lying on its back but snarling back at the female until her demeanour changed and her attention then shifted back to the carcass. Looking to push the boundaries a little more, the cub pushed its way closer to the carcass, resulting in a show of dominance by the female.

To its credit, the young cub fought back giving as good as it received, but needless to say, it came with a few anxious moments and gasps from my guests. It prompted a conversation around the lioness’ aggression towards the cub, especially given the cubs need to feed and why was the lioness not conceding and self-sacrificing for the good of the young.

It was a hard lesson but it was all about discipline and strength-cornerstones of a lion’s life. The discipline factor has two aspects to it. Number one is know your place and number two is know when to choose your fights. This cub clearly did not need to feed, it was full from its last sitting. The other cornerstone is strength - lions are unforgiving when a kill is first made, with every member fighting for a piece of fresh meat. This lioness, I believe, was trying to toughen up this youngster, to hold its own and fight for what it wants and to show the ruthlessness that will be needed to survive.

Although a tough lesson to learn, sometimes things are not how they appear and the being cruel to be kind phrase comes to mind. Clearly the females are doing a good job as this cub fought back and showed the resolve needed to survive.

For me, there is no better expression of a lion’s power when seeing them feeding on a carcass. It is always a difficult scene to witness but for a few reasons, it is something I really believe is critical to a guest’s safari experience.

The first is witnessing the ferocity of the apex predator feeding, as well as the dependency that each species has on each other to survive be it fauna and flora. This element appeals to the cognitive element of the safari. However, it is the sensory element which is probably what resonates the most. The sight - to witness a lion’s teeth cutting through the flesh. The sound - large jaws crunching and the vocalisation of two lions competing for the same piece of meat. The feeling - the vibrations caused by this aggression, permeating through your body is difficult to describe. The smell - of the flesh is something that is always difficult to bear, but these elements are what makes the difference between watching this on TV and living it - these are the elements that make us feel most alive!