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Lion pictures and videos

Argentina Tshokwane Away
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Laurent Baheux:
The Family Album of Wild Africa

In The Family Album of Wild Africa, Laurent portrays the intimate bond between the mammals of the Dark Continent and the human race. By emphasizing an expression or a posture, he allows the viewer to make their own interpretation, rather than imposing a documentary vision : “I take photographs based on my gut instinct. For me, the thing that matters the most is the connection.”

This new opus is an impressive collection of more than 300 images, nearly half of which are exclusives, and is his second major work in only a few years – a rare feat for a contemporary photographer. “It’s a landmark photographic work,” confirms the prestigious publishing house teNeues.

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Argentina Tshokwane Away
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Better than words:

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United States TheLioness Offline
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Male lion escaping herd of buffalo


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Rex Cecil the lion (darker mane) fighting with a male lion called Jericho
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Greece LionKiss Offline
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( This post was last modified: 12-12-2015, 01:18 PM by LionKiss )

@TheLioness

what is the name of the male Lion climbing up the tree in your first photo?



Rex Cecil was killed last summer by an American Dentist with a crossbow and arrow and there was speculation that Jericho will protect Cecil's cubs nevertheless at least one was killed back in August,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...richo.html

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/5971...wange-park

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...chers.html

http://www.ecoforumafrica.org/cecil-the-lion/

are the rest of them still alive, as we speak? are there any new reports?
if no other male claims the pride their mother can take care of them, I guess.
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United States TheLioness Offline
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Not sure who the lion is LionKiss, sorry


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Majingi male

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United States TheLioness Offline
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Etosha lion

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Lipstick and Blackie

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Argentina Tshokwane Away
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Robert McCracken:
AFRICA.

I ❤ Photography :- Wild Life through the Lens of a Camera!
African King and Queen ~ Wild Romance is in the Air!!!

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Argentina Tshokwane Away
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( This post was last modified: 12-17-2015, 10:40 PM by Tshokwane )

Farida Carim:
"True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid...."- Kgalagadi.

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Newton Mulenga:
Day 2 of photographic challenge. 
Musanza boys having a good time in their new territory after kicking Mr Busanga out and took over,sorry Mr Busanga.

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Argentina Tshokwane Away
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Wilderness Safaris:
One of the Owens Boys with a Plains lioness at Kalahari Plains waterhole © Fanie Mpiping

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United States Pckts Offline
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United Kingdom Sully Offline
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Lions Feast on Their Kill in Ngorongoro
By Jennifer Dombrowski 9 Comments
As we sat by the roaring fire at The Manor at Ngorongoro, everyone was excitedly chattering about the day’s various game drives they’d been on. We’d just arrived to Ngorongoro and had an eventful day in Tarangire with our first lion sighting and a herd of elephants that entertained us as they played in a watering hole before our flight to Lake Manyara. My ears perked up as I first heard the couple across from me mention how awful the weather must be at home in Pennsylvania. Small world! That was the conversation icebreaker and before long they were regaling us with how they’d seen a pride take down a Cape Buffalo and the lions feast on their kill that morning. I couldn’t wait for our Ngorongoro game drive the next day.

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It didn’t take long after we’d descended into the Ngorongoro Crater before we spotted our first lions – three males just sitting in the grass. Two of the lions were just watching. Waiting. As the third lifted his head and then decided we weren’t very interesting, we realized there wasn’t going to be much excitement from this pride. Despite our very early start, it was already nearing 9am and chances we’d be witnessing a kill were slim.
Lions tend to hunt at night or very early in the morning. Much of the rest of the day, usually around 20 – 22 hours, lions do exactly what we’d just observed – sleep. Sounds like an easy life, right? After all, lions are the king of the beasts.
Wrong. Lions actually have quite a hard life, despite their reign over the African savannah and placement at the top of the food chain. Lions aren’t fast animals, especially in comparison to their common prey like wildebeest that can reach top speeds around 80 kilometers per hour and effortlessly maintain their speed over long distances. Lions have terrible stamina.

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A pride of lions feast on a Cape Buffalo
Up ahead we see a commotion and what seems like all of the vehicles in Ngorongoro Crater gathering. Earlier a pride of lions had taken down a Cape Buffalo and while we didn’t see that (the guides estimated the kill had probably occurred between 5am – 6am), we did witness the lions feast on their kill. It might sound gruesome to watch them eat, but we were fascinated.
Usually it is the female lions that are responsible for hunting, but this pride was made of up four males and just one female. A group hunt typically only has a 30% success rate and of the majority of hunts that scientists have observed, the most successful ones occur at night with dense cover. So here on the wide open plains of Ngorongoro Crater, this kill was something special to witness in the circle of life.
Lions expend all of their energy in the hunt and when plenty of food is available, like with this Cape Buffalo, they will gorge themselves into near immobility. There is a hierarchy in who eats first, with the pride leader (usually the largest male) eating first. He’d already had his share and the others were feasting when we’d arrived. Hyenas and jackals sat waiting nearby, just hoping for any morsel.

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This fearless jackal nabs a bite
Those jackals were practically fearless and no matter how many times the lioness warned them off, they were persistent in trying to get a piece. One little jackal finally succeeded, only to have the chunk of meat literally ripped away from him by a hyena.

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Trying to get to the good bits – the heart, liver, and kidneys

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Too tired to bathe himself

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We got pretty close to these lions
We continued to watch for a while as the lions took turns eating and ripping open the body to eat the heart, liver and kidneys. The pride leader rested in the shade of our line of safari vehicles, blood still dripping from his mane. We were in no danger – he’d just eaten himself into a sleep and still had plenty for later.

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We reluctantly left the lions as the pride leader slowly wandered down to a puddle for a drink. The day was really just getting started and we already had tales we’d be telling to the newcomers at The Manor that evening. What would the rest of the day hold?




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United States Pckts Offline
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Oh man, I can't wait till I go to the Crater!!!!

So cool, looks like it gets quite crowded though.
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United Kingdom Sully Offline
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@Pckts Lucky you, Getting to see some of the largest lions in the world, hope it's a good trip and you see loads of drama!
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United States Pckts Offline
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I can't wait, still 9 months away, but everything is booked and paid for.
So as long as nothing unexpected happens between now and then, its on!
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United Kingdom Sully Offline
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@Pckts Wish the best for you.

I'll be going Yala in the future so hopefully I'll get to see some big leopards!

But this is a lion thread so back to the topic...



The Asiatic Lions of Sasan-Gir!
The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, in Gujarat, is the only refuge of the Asiatic Lions. Every nature lover who harbors a desire to see a “free living, wild lion in India” has to someday, visit Sasan-Gir. I had that pleasure on the 25th of January, 2008!



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Asiatic Lion at Sasan-Gir.


What is not unusual about India is the unusual! The experience of seeing my first wild lion, was quite unlike what I had imagined it to be. It made me realize how unusual life in India can really be!

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Picture this - > You enter a protected area in search of the King of Beasts. Your eyes are keenly searching for any movement or sounds that would indicate the presence of this mighty beast. Various scenes you had seen on television keep popping up in your mind as your eyes scan the dry landscape. Suddenly, you come across a large group of “cattle” grazing calmly, their friendly caretaker sitting quietly under a nearby tree. Not too far away, you can hear the alarm call of a Spotted Deer heralding the presence a predator!


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A "Maldhari" with his Cattle inside Gir Forest!

Yes, here in the Sasan-Gir forest, over 300 lions co-exist amongst hundreds of human and their thousands of cattle! These people live among the lions and milk the cattle for a living! Known as “Maldharis”, they live in scattered settlements inside the Gir forest, without fear of the lions!


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Unusual and fascinating indeed!

We left Jamnagar on the 24th morning after breakfast. A pleasant, four hour, drive brought us to Sasan-Gir. Arpit had already made all the arrangements. We checked into Mohit’s “Gir Birding Lodge” by noon. The friendly staff, the newly built spacious and very clean cottage and the quietness of the place were all very much to our liking. We immediately felt at home. After a wonderful lunch we entered the Gir Forest, for the first time, with great anticipation. What are the chances of sighting a Lion? I asked Atul, our bird friendly driver. 100% sir! was the enthusiastic answer I got!

That afternoon we spent about 3 hours in the Gir Forest in search of Lions. The forest was dry and brown. The drive in the open Jeep was dusty. I soon got used to seeing several tourist vehicles in search of the lions. The pugmarks on the forest roads, the alarm calls of the chitals and the occasional roar of the lion all added to my excitement. No sighting yet! However, I learnt of the Maldharis and their cattle. I understood that the dry scrubland with hills, perennial rivers, and teak forest was quite ideal for the lions to roam freely. I saw plenty of “Spotted Deer”, “Sambar Deer” and “Wild Boars”. I was also able to see and photograph several species of birds. Tomorrow we shall see the lion!


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The 25th of January, 2008. This day, I shall never forget. My first “Lion” sighting! And what a day! We were almost at the end of our morning session. Various tourist vehicles with their driver and guide were making their own strategies on where the lions may be! Yesterday, we sighted four of them in this place sir, they may not have moved too far away. A mother with her two young cubs were spotted recently in this area… Shhh.. Chitals calling .. move, quickly!

After a lot of effort of going this way and that, while Atul was zooming towards yet another “gut feel”, I suddenly saw her … stop, STOP! .. my goodness a lioness! She was walking quite close to the road in the opposite direction. As our vehicle came to a dusty halt, she quickly disappeared from our view, without breaking her stride! I was amazed at how the color of the animal merged with the background. If I was not fully tuned and she was not moving, I am sure I would have missed seeing her! I was delighted at this first, lucky sighting. I just managed to shoot one image of the back of the vanishing lioness! My first sighting to cherish!


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My first Sighting!

As I savored this exciting first sighting, the best is yet to come, I thought. Soon it was time to head back to the resort. The time allowed for our morning session was almost over, suddenly, there it was, a magnificent male, the lord of beasts! As the lion started strolling away to our right, Atul did some miraculous maneuvering of our vehicle to get me a better view. The beast stopped in front of us and marked a bush as he let out a royal roar! At such close quarters, hearing that roar gave me “goose bumps” as I stared in awe at the massive, powerful, wild being in front of me. He then gave me a wonderful look before jumping across a stream and vanishing into the forest. It all happened so quickly, just about a minute I would say and what a minute – phew! I am still wondering how I managed to shoot a couple of images in all that excitement!


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The evening session was an anticlimax! After a few minutes of entering the forest we came to a place where many tourist vehicles had gathered. At first we could not see them, though we knew the reason the tourists had gathered. Then we saw three of them – Mother, Son and Daughter! The lions sat quietly in the shade as hundreds of tourists came for a “Darshan”. A forest department vehicle with a few officials was parked close by to ensure no man animal conflict occurred. I happily clicked several images of the three lions as a tourist amongst other tourists would. Some how, the other two “chance sightings” seemed more satisfying.


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At first we could see nothing...can you?


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We spent the next morning in a different area hoping to sight a Panther, which I was told was also quite easy to come across at Gir as compared to other forests. We did not have that pleasure on this occasion. Instead, we had plenty of birding and some good photo opportunities.


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Crocodile at Sasan-Gir.

That evening session was more or less a repeat of the previous evening. After visiting a large waterbody and getting good views of a Crocodile, we found the same three lions under a different tree. Many tourist vehicles were in the queue, for a better look at the lions. The only difference was that this time the “Young Male” was sitting in wonderful golden light – any photographers delight! I got about three minutes before the next vehicle took over the prime position and we had to move on – I had, had my fill indeed!


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This is how I saw lions at Sasan-Gir. Couple of times by luck and a couple of times being led directly to them. The five trips I made inside the forest were all wonderful. The five lions I saw were full of life and appeared healthy. There was a kind of positive energy about them I thought. It was a gratifying trip for me indeed! The lions seemed to have filled a certain void in the life of a nature lover!

On the 27th we took the short (2 hrs/90 kms) drive to Diu after a late breakfast. A boat ride at the beach for my kid, a good lunch at the Radhika Beach Resort and we were on the 3 pm Jet Airways flight back home!

These are some birds I managed to shoot in the Gir Forest. Please visit http://www.indiabirds.com to see some of them...

Short-toed Snake Eagle, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Small Minivet, White-browed Fantail, White Wagtail, Red-vented Bulbul

We were in Bangalore at 8.30 pm to enjoy a lovely home cooked meal. A week had passed in a flash, filling several flash cards of happy moments to share!

We narrowly missed seeing a lioness along with her two newborn cubs. I was however able to get this image of a fresh pugmark made by one of the cubs! This image brings a happy thought to my mind that their breed is indeed increasing…


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A newborn cubs walks at Gir!

Vijay Cavale
January, 2008

My second Visit  -> http://vijaycavale.blogspot.com/2010/03/gir-january-2010.html
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