Tag: Lion

Can you spot the lion out in the open staring at tourists?

Lions have an amazing ability to blend in with the terrain of the African savanna. This trait allows them to easily sneak up on prey.

Editor’s note: A version of this post was first published on Aug. 8, 2023. 

Lions possess the ability to blend in with the dry, low-lying grasses of the African savanna, a trait that allows them to easily sneak up on prey.

In this case, however, tourists at Kruger National Park in South Africa managed to spot a lone lion because it was walking through the grass.

“Whilst driving along slowly, we noticed a movement that caught our eye as she [the lion] was walking along through the grass,” Peter Hall explained to USA Today/For The Win Outdoors.

“We stopped there and I took that photo once she had stopped walking for a while and was just sitting there watching us. With a long lens, I could get a decent pic. She was at least 50 meters [165 feet] away. But I liked the way she blended so perfectly into the surrounding landscape of the Central Kruger Park, near Tshokwane.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Can you spot the leopard with the ‘good disguise’?

Hall is a professional artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He often incorporates wildlife into his beautiful work.

Hall posted the image on the private Facebook page called SANParks – Kruger National Park, asking “can you see her?”

One commenter said she saw a lion face made by the rocks.

“It felt a bit like a ‘Where’s Wally’ page, but I finally spotted her,” another wrote.

Others wrote:

“It took a little while to spot her. Well done, amazing photo.”

“So well camouflaged.”

In case you needed help:

Photo credit: Peter Hall

Check out Hall’s work at Peter Hall Artist on Facebook.

Photo used by permission from Peter Hall.

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Lion-bumping incident in South Africa ‘dealt with at highest level’

Social media footage showing a motorist nudging a lion with his front bumper in Kruger National Park prompted a quick investigation.

A motorist who bumped a lion with his vehicle over the weekend, seemingly to clear the animal from a road in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, has apparently been disciplined.

A day earlier, after viewing the accompanying footage, SanParks promised the incident would be “dealt with at the highest level.”

The agency, however, has not provided details about the individual or possible disciplinary measures.

The footage, shared by Lion Lovers, shows the seemingly impatient motorist rolling into the startled lion from behind.

Lion Lovers tagged SanParks in its post – the vehicle’s license plate is visible in the footage – and several in the comments thread demanded that the motorist be banned from the park.

“Disgusting behavior,” one follower complained.

“Hard to watch,” another stated.

The incident occurred during a traffic jam caused by lions lounging on a highway. Lion jams typically attract tourists eager to view and photograph the animals, but most do so respectfully.

Kruger National Park is billed as the “flagship of the South African National Parks” and tourists are allowed on its roads as long as they remain in their vehicles.

Animals always have the right of way and motorists are required to exercise extreme caution. Any action that alters an animal’s behavior – such as bumping it with a vehicle – can be considered illegal harassment.

Impatient tourist bumps lion with vehicle; footage sparks outrage

The motorist appears to be nudging the startled lion to clear a prime observation spot in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

Footage showing a motorist bumping into a lion in South Africa’s Kruger National Park has enraged social-media viewers.

“What a selfish inconsiderate idiot!” Lion Lovers exclaimed Friday via X, calling on the park to ban the motorist. “It’s a disgrace that people behave like this.”

The incident occurred during a traffic jam caused by lions walking on a highway. These “lion jams” typically attract crowds of tourists eager to view and photograph the animals – but usually in a respectable manner.

The footage, captured by Safraaz Suliman, shows the truck rolling toward and nudging the startled cat’s rear as if to clear a prime observation spot.

“Hard to watch. This driver should get a lifetime ban from any national park,” reads a comment beneath the Lion Lovers post.

“Disgusting behavior,” another viewer complained.

Kruger is billed as the “flagship of the South African National Parks” and tourists are allowed to tour the park in their own vehicles.

However, animals have the right of way and motorists are required to exercise extreme caution when in close proximity to wildlife. Any action that alters an animal’s behavior – such as bumping it with a vehicle – might be considered illegal harassment.

The Lion Lovers tweet tagged Kruger National Park, but at the time of this post it remained unclear if the park planned to investigate.

Watch: Safari guest can’t believe she is this close to a lion

Footage shows the young woman expressing awe and disbelief as the male lion passes just yards from her open-air vehicle.

How would you react if you were on a photo safari and witnessed an adult male lion approaching within yards of your open-air vehicle?

The accompanying footage, shared Thursday by Mala Mala Game Reserve, shows a young woman expressing awe and disbelief as a lion strolled almost within touching distance.

Her reaction is so understandably perfect that Mala Mala required no description other than to state: “One of the many reasons we do what we do.”

For those who might wonder, lions in South Africa’s protected reserves are accustomed to safari vehicles and typically do not perceive tourists in vehicles as prey or a threat.

Mala Mala is a private reserve that shares an unfenced border with world-famous Kruger National Park. Besides lions, guests might encounter other iconic large animals such as elephants, leopards, rhinos and buffaloes.

Safari guests stunned as lions savagely repel interloper

Footage shows several lions, led by a famous one-eyed dominant male, viciously turn against a lion from another pride.

Safari guests observing lions at an elephant carcass over the weekend were “stunned” to witness the pride turning ferociously against an interloper.

The accompanying footage, captured in South Africa’s Thornybush Nature Reserve, shows the lions appearing content alongside the carcass after their feast.

But one lion, front and center at the carcass, was from a rival pride and that spelled trouble.

“The young Avoca Male casually walked into the Monwana Pride and fed with them on an elephant carcass (as if he was part of the pride),” photographer Almero Klingenberg, who captured the footage, explained via Instagram. “A few minutes later, Mapoza showed up and together with his sons, they chased the intruder away.”

That’s understating matters based on the graphic footage.

Cameron Scott, owner of Royal Ngala Safaris, shared the footage and stated that guests were “stunned” by the “chaos” that unfolded.

Scott continued: “The young Avoca male Lion joins the Monwana pride on an Elephant carcass and is immediately disciplined and chased off by my favorite blue-eyed Mapoza and his boys!

“He’s lucky to escape alive.”

Mapoza is a large dominant male lion who’s blind in his right eye, which is blueish-gray in color. Thornybush Nature Reserve refers to Mapoza as “The Lion With One Eye.”

Watch: Charging lion creates heart-pounding moment, epic shot

A male lion known as Mad Eye Moody was captured in video charging photographers in Chobe National Park in Botswana.

A male lion known as Mad Eye Moody was captured in video charging photographers in Chobe National Park in Botswana.

Mad Eye Moody was in protective mode of its mate, who was lying down in the background.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Wildest Africa (@wildestafrica)

“Lions will usually do this when they are on their three-day mating binges to let anything and anyone know that the female is theirs and they better not even think of getting in the way or there will be consequences,” LionHub101 wrote on its Instagram post of @movingpicturesafrica’s video.

WildestAfrica wrote that it is usual for male lions in this state to be moody and temperamental, and described the footage as a “heart-pounding moment.”

“This did turn out for an opportunity to get an epic shot, @movingpicturesafrica behind the lens capturing it all, so focused on the job he was unaware of how close Mad Eye actually was,” WildestAfrica wrote.

Buffalo literally in spotlight while saving ‘friend’ from lion attack

Dramatic footage shows the precise moment that an African buffalo rushed in to save another buffalo from a lion attack.

Dramatic footage shared Thursday shows the compelling moment that an African buffalo rushed in to save another buffalo from a savage lion attack.

As viewers can see, the male lion has one buffalo by the throat in what appears to be a death grip until another buffalo rushes in to scatter the pride and force the male lion to release its grip and flee.

As the hero buffalo enters frame, a spotlight, presumably from a safari vehicle, shines on the rescue and both buffaloes. The massive bovines remain stationary and perhaps stunned briefly before wandering off.

The footage was shared by Latest Sightings, which features content captured in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, and credited to Sara Zegut.

The video description: “Buffalo risks it all to save friend from lion’s death grip!”

Lion ignores a potential wildebeest buffet to tend to its ‘lost’ cubs

Adorable video from South Africa shows the mother lion calling in her six missing cubs while the prey nervously look on.

Despite a herd of wildebeest nearby, a mother lion made no effort to chase prey, instead concentrating on calling her “missing” cubs to her so she could provide them with dinner.

The adorable video was captured by Jaco Joubert, a guide with MalaMala Game Reserve in South Africa and shared by LatestSightings.

“She let out low-frequency contact calls, and the group and guide knew that if they followed her, they were going to be in for a treat,” LatestSightings stated. “She was heading from the open plains to a more thick, dense bush.

“Scanning the direction she was heading, it was extremely thick, and there was no movement to be seen. Mom picked up her pace, showing a look of nervousness on her face, perhaps due to the presence of other large game near where her babies were stashed. After waiting some time to see where mom was heading, the group began to get nervous that maybe the cubs were very well hidden. And when mom eventually reaches them, it might be too thick to see them.

“But just then, from the corner of the guide’s eye, he saw movement! It was a tiny lion cub, with the tufts of hair on his ears barely visible in the long grass. One, then two, then three, and they just kept coming until a total of six tiny cubs came running and calling in the cutest manner, trying to respond to their mom!

“The cubs looked like they were trying to say, ‘Here, mom, we are over here.’ They ran as fast as their short, tiny legs could take them. Mom found a comfortable place next to the road in the open and sat patiently for them. They were so excited at this point that they were jumping and hopping with a bounce in their step!

“As soon as they reached their mom, they tackled her and jumped on top of her! They wanted milk; they were like little kittens, purring and wagging their tails. Each of the little cubs fell perfectly into place as soon as mom turned on her side, and they began suckling. Not bothered by the group’s presence, mom and babies were having a moment of bonding and love.”

Photos courtesy of LatestSightings.

Watch: Jilted African lion pretends not to care; ‘That’s life’

A wildlife photographer has captured footage showing a male lion shrugging off a snub from a lioness as though he were too much of a king to care.

Can a male lion feel jilted by a lioness? In a sense, perhaps.

The accompanying footage, captured by Yaron Schmid, shows an African lion anticipating affection from an approaching lioness, only to be ignored by the passing feline.

“Poor guy… just look at the disappointment on his face,” Schmid joked via Instagram.

That’s because the lion reveals no disappointment, instead holding his head high and gazing elsewhere as though pretending not to care.

Schmid, a photographer and safari guide, pounced on this theme. He added a fitting accompaniment from the legendary Frank Sinatra and clever text bubbles to enhance his post.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Mighty lion versus tiny crab – which is the king of beasts?

Amusing footage captured at Mala Mala Game Reserve shows the lion backing away after the crab opened its claws in a battle posture.

MalaMala Game Reserve in South Africa on Thursday shared an amusing clip showing a lion’s wary encounter with a ferocious-looking crab.

The lion is curious at first; comfortable enough to inspect the crab while lounging on the dirt.

But when the crab spreads its claws in a battle posture, the lion wants no part of the crustacean and rises to back away.

Among the comments beneath Mala Mala’s post was this from a user named TCB: “It’s the size of the heart that counts.”

Another reply: “The King is a little wary.”