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a morning with the southern pride

on Jan 15, 2012

There is nothing quite like spending quality time with a pride of lions. On this particular morning we found the Southern Pride sleeping next to the road, their position given away by a group of Vervet monkeys alarm calling after seeing the pride of 16 moving through the bush. We watched as they rested amongst some round leaf teak before they started to get moving again.

Lion Cubs At Sabi Sabi

We followed them through the bush; cubs ankle tapping each other as the adults moved along. Generally in the early morning they are quite active and enjoy a bit of playtime before the heat of the African sun forces them to take cover in the shade and sleep out the rest of the day until it cools again in the evening.

Lion Play

As we made our way through the bush I saw a small wallow filled with water and knew that they were going to go for a drink. We made our way around the pride and then set up on the other side of the wallow to get the best view of the pride drinking. We watched as they dropped down to quench their thirst and lapped up as much water as they could.

Once they had finished drinking, their energy levels suddenly jumped up a couple of notches and the whole pride started to enjoy the playtime that the cubs had kicked off a little earlier. We watched as they stalked each other, through the grass and pounced on each other on the road. The cubs mimicked the hunting techniques learnt from the adults.

After about an hour and a half with the pride, the sun started to get a bit of a sting to it and the lions started to get ready for their daytime sleep. They rested in the road for a while before moving into the shade and hiding from the sun. This was our cue to head off and find some of the other amazing creatures on the reserve. What a great morning.

  • by: Richard de Gouveia (Little Bush Camp ranger)
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