Tag: lion

Don’t be fooled. Even if a Lion is sleeping with its eyes closed it can go to high alert within seconds. If it hears a suspicious sound or gets a whiff of an unexpected smell it will be ready on its feet with open (very round) eyes right away.

Lions can sleep soundly with a game viewing vehicle and a group of chattering humans parked next to them (which they are used to and which is of no interest to them). But if a small branch is broken or a foot is set on gravel they will react immediately as this could mean a possible meal or some threat.

Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f2.8/300mm | ISO 2000 | 1/500sec | f2.8 | ev+0 | 300mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 25% of original image

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Lions are not very squeamish when it comes to their food. Even days old carcasses will not deter them from filling their stomachs. Their average meat intake per day is between 5kg (11lbs) and 7kg (15.5lbs). But as they usually only eat every few days, they will consume much more in one go. A large male can ingest over 40kg (88lbs) in one sitting.

Last Sunday this young male ‘took over’ a Cape Buffalo carcass which was attacked and killed by the pride at the edge of a waterhole and died in the water. It was rather comical to observe this huge cat avoiding the water as he was trying to get to the meat (like most cats, Lions do not like water very much).

At the end he and all the other members of his pride (nine Lions) had to step into the water to get to the meat inside the body of the Buffalo. His ‘island approach’ did not work!

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 3200 | 1/500sec | f6.3 | ev+/-0 | 140mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 50% of original image

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography

Taking pictures on eye-level is one of the most important components of many good (wildlife) photos. And even after over 20 years of taking Lion pictures, facing a large cat in that fashion is still very exciting.

Last night Thanda Safari’s dominant male appeared at the right place and at the right time for me to get this shot. He was patrolling his territory, stopping occasionally to roar and assert his position.

Technical data: Canon R6 with RF lens f4-6.3/24-240mm | ISO 1000 | 1/500sec | f6.3 | ev+0 | 240mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 25% of original image

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography

Male Lions are often described as lazy pashas living in cozy comfort, while their females do all the hunting work. That is very far from the truth.

For the first two to three years of his live a young male is looked after very well by his pride. But once he hits puberty and is ready to mate his dad does no longer like him and will kill him unless the youngster runs away. He now has to try to survive by himself.

Only one out of ten male Lion ever makes it to full adulthood. That one survivor will be a strong animal and ultimately kill an older dominant male and take over his territory and his prides. From that moment to the end of his life he will fight other males who want to displace him, until one of them succeeds. A very hard life!

This picture shows a young male at the edge of puberty.

Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f2.8/70-200mm | ISO 1600 | 1/350sec | f2.8 | ev+0 | 200mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 25% of original image

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography

Lions, as most large carnivores, spend most of their time resting. They can afford to do this as they are consuming ‘high-energy food’ (meat eaten very quickly after a kill). In contrast all the large herbivores (eg Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalos, Giraffes) must spend most of their time ingesting their ‘low-energy food’ (plant material like grasses and trees).

So Lions may sleep up to 20 hours per day whereas Elephants will sleep as little as 2 hours in the same time frame. Have a good -lazy- weekend!

Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f2.8/300mm | ISO 2500 | 1/500sec | f2.8 | ev+0 | 300mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 40% of original image

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography

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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As most cats, African Lions have very sharp and retractable claws (Five on each front paw and four on each back paw). These 18 most formidable weapons are up to 38mm (1.5″) in length.

And as most other cats they are very at good climbing up trees but they are rather bad getting down again. Their sharp claws support their ascent, but they are facing the wrong direction when descending head first. Unfortunately the Lions have never learned how come down backwards!

Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f2.8/70-200mm | ISO 1000 | 1/2000sec | f2.8 | ev+0 | 165mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 20% of original image | handheld on eye-level

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography

Disney’s cartoon character slept 24 hours a days. Our Lions manage almost as much. If they have a full belly from a good meal they can easily sleep up to 20 hours per day.

Like most carnivores (meat eaters) they are able to ingest huge amounts of meat very quickly. A male Lion can eat around 40kg (~90lbs) of meat from one kill. With such a full stomach they rest and only get up to drink lots of water and urinate/dedicate as needed.

But one should not be fooled. Their sleep is not deep and if anything disturbs them they are up in seconds, ready to defend themselves, run away, or kill a prey animal if it ventures too close to them.

This picture shows a young Thanda Safari male Lion resting on a recently burned area with the new grass sprouting after the recent rains.

Technical data: Canon R6 with EF lens f2.8/70-200mm | ISO 800 | 1/500sec | f2.8 | ev+0 | 150mm | WB 6500K | AV Mode | Crop to 80% of original image | hand-held on eye level

#amazingwildlife #africansafari #safarigetaway #christiansperkaphotography #thandasafari #big5 #gamereserve #wildlifephotography #learnphotography