Pride Rock!

Yesterday morning Thanda Safari’s dominant male Lion appeared on top of a hill and settled down on a rocky – recently burned- area. He had a full belly and did not move away from this location for the remainder of the day.

Contrary to most people’s beliefs a dominant male is usually not part of only one pride (family). He is the master of a territory in which there can be multiple prides. A large part of his time this very powerful cat is spending patrolling his area and vocalizing (roaring) to announce his presence to the neighboring males and any possible intruders into his territory. Each roar also serves as ‘a locator’ in case a female Lion requires his services and wants to find him.

And as they are often spending a lot of time away from their ladies, adults males are quite capable of hunting for their own meals. But if they are with a pride then the females provide the dinners.

Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f4.0/500mm | ISO 500 | 1/500sec | f4 | ev-0.5 | 500mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 15% of original image | shot taken using a beanbag from a vehicle across a valley

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