Lion pictures and videos

[Sully]

Photo Essay – Anatomy of Lioness Kill in the Serengeti
12 September 2013 by Raul 5 Comments
During my trip Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, I made time to do a safari.  We first visited Lake Manyara, then the Serengeti and at the end the Ngorongoro Crater.   Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to see a lion kill.  But that’s exactly what we got to see.  We saw two of them in progress, one with a solo lioness in the Serengeti and another with a trio of lionesses working together in the Ngorongoro Crater.
Lion kills are a slow thing with the beast slowly and deliberately moving to not alert the prey to their presence.  The trio of lionesses was way too slow and after like 45 minutes of watching them without them getting an inch closer to the target group, we moved on.  But the solo lioness was a different story.  Though it was taking a long time too, at least she was moving towards the target group (wildebeests, or “gnus“) so we hung in there.  And we were rewarded with quite a sight.  And the weird thing was, there were vehicles like ours all around (all of us silent, of course) and the presence of the vehicles did not seem to distract her from her focus on the target group and her cautious approach.  That probably was the most amazing thing for me!
So here is a series of photo from the moment we saw her until her moment of rest when it was all said and done…

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A cute lioness just soaking up the sun in the Serengeti?

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Nah! She is looking at the source of her next lunch: the wildebeest resting under an acacia!

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The lioness lies very low, hidden in the tall grass. I lost sight of her a few times!

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She is a beauty for sure! A tough beauty!

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She is monitoring the wind so her scent does not carry to the wildebeest scouts who are away from the group to protect it

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She pauses every now and then. Sometimes she sat there for 5 mins or more

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She finally moves again. I am leaning on the roof of the vehicle without movement while we wait! My arm falls asleep…  We are ready to snap pictures the moment she makes the final run!

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She goes low again and we lost her for a moment  This is the final stretch!

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She is too fast and the chaos that ensues makes me lose her but here she is… she got a young one so she does not have to give chase.

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The group of wildebeests (or gnus) flies off. I had followed the group thinking she went after them but she was already enjoying her prey under the tree.  Newbie me.

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The lioness enjoy a moment in the shade enjoying her success. She is probably about to post a selfie in Instagram as she chews on her lunch

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