Watching the Lions

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Geo: -24.7435, 26.2573

This morning Paul's guests didn't want to go for a game drive and I was starting work at 9am. So, Paul and I went for a short game drive. We left at 6.30am as the sun was rising. It was quite chilly in the open vehicle. I enjoyed being out of the lodge and on game drives.

We heard on the radio that there was a lion sighting nearby. We approached it and saw two young male lions. Their manes were just starting to grow. Then they started to play fight with eac other. Our appearance caught their attention. Then Paul told me that one of the males likes to jump onto the back of cars!! I was a bit scared for a while when he was walking behind the car. We banged on the side of the car and that scared him away from the car. Along came the mother lion and another lioness. In the distance we could hear the adult male lion roaring to mark his territory. It sent a bit of a chill down my spine.

The four lions near us were quite active and it was a great sight to see. They were play fighting, although I could see wounds and scars on the adult lions. We then drove in the direction of the male lion. He was about 200 metres away from the other 4 lions. He was just sitting in the grass and observing his surroundings- not very interesting to watch so we went back to the other four and took a few final photos. They had finished play fighting for now and were resting. We had watched the lions for about an hour.

We didn't see much during the rest of our drive, only a steenbok. Then it was time for me to go back and start work at 9am. What a great way to start a day!

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Photos

01 Young Male
His mane is just visible as it is starting to grow.

02 Young Male
The other young male lion.

03 In the Grass
The male lion standing in the tall grass.

04 Looking
The lion looking at us.

05 Walking
A young male walking along.

06 Sitting
A lion sitting in the grass.

07 Active
Then two of the lions started to become active with each other.

08 Pair
A pair of lions.

09 Tails Up
Three lion tails up in the air.

10 Male
A male lion walking past the sitting lions.

11 Lionesses
A lionesses walking along.

12 Stretching
She is stretching.

13 Still Stretching
The lioness is still stretching.

14 Pair
Two of the lions.

15 Lioness
A pair of lionesses.

16 Grass in Mouth
The young male has a clump of dried grass in his mouth.

17 Males
A pair of young male lions.

18 In the Grass
The young male with the dried grass still in his mouth.

19 Two Boys
Two male lions in the tall, dry grass.

20 Mane
This male's mane is starting to grow.

21 Play Fighting
The pride now started to play fight with each other.