Day 5: Lions on the Mara

In the morning, we found a pride of lions stretched out in the shade of low shrubs and watched them for several hours. Their swollen distended bellies were evidence of last night’s successful hunt. Gorged on food and satiated for a time, the lions lounged in the shade and wanted to do little else than digest. We pulled to within 15 feet of them and hardly an eye opened or an ear twitched. I took the opportunity to get many extreme close up photos of their hair, face and paw detail for reference. The pride consisted of one young male about 4 years old, one female and three cubs maybe two years old. The spotted coat of their youth was still faintly visible when the light was just right. Lions are lithe and powerful with a more muscular build than the cheetah. Cheetah are made for speed and are the greyhounds of the Cat family, and they can simply out run their prey. Whereas, lions are pure muscle and strength and must use stealth to get close enough to attach.

An adult male lion weighs on average 416 lbs. The females are small at around 277 lbs. I would not want to tangle with either.