Felids Interactions - Intraspecific Conflicts

[Tshokwane]

Nirmalya Banerjee: Olare Motorogi Conservancy.

Watching two male lions fight is a fearsome experience. The noise, the dust, indeed the sheer kinetic energy of the two big cats is awesome- even when as in this case it's a fight between two males of the same pride and so nothing like a fight to the finish. Lolparpit and Orbanoti are seen fighting to establish dominance while two lionesses of the Enkoyanai pride look on, concerned for the little cub you can see in the grass to the right of the frame. Lolparpit won this round and left leaving Orbanoti -flat on his back in this picture- to lick his wounds.

And then we were witness to another of those co-operative pride interactions that make lion watching so special. One of the lionesses came forward to calm down Orbanoti- seething with humiliation at having been bested and so perhaps unpredictable and liable to hit out. She kept licking him till he calmed down. Meanwhile her sister, the cub's mother- took advantage of the diversion to pick up her cub and carry it away to safety in the ravine behind her.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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