Tag: Lion

Tourists fail to spot lion in ‘funny moment’ caught on video

The tourists seemed aware that a lion was close, but they had no idea how close.

A Kenya-based photographer on Thursday captured a “funny moment” involving two tourists hoping to spot a lion, seemingly unaware that a lion was standing immediately behind their truck.

Pareet Shah’s footage (posted below), captured in Maasai Mari National Reserve, shows the lion hidden from the men as they stood inside the vehicle and scanned the landscape.

Shah told FTW Outdoors that he did not know the tourists and explained:

“The sub-adult male lion from the Topi Pride came out from behind the bush and the tourists were scampering in their car looking for lions, not to realize there was one just behind their car! It was a funny moment.”

The vehicle belongs to Matoke Tours Africa and one of Shah’s followers commented, jokingly: “Welcome to Matoke Tours! We guarantee you will get very close with lions but you will not be able to see it!”

Matoke Tours was good-natured, sharing the clip via Instagram and writing: “Ehm… where did the lion go? Our travelers probably never imagined we would take them this close! Amazing shot by [Pareet Shah].”

Maasai Mara National Reserve is in southwestern Kenya. The Topi Pride is dominant in the Topi Plains region.

Watch: Rhino shows lion that ‘size matters at the waterhole’

Footage from South Africa shows a lion being forced by the rhino to wait its turn before approaching for a drink.

When a small watering hole is occupied by a large rhinoceros, even a mighty lion must wait its turn before approaching for a drink.

The accompanying footage, captured this week at Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa, shows a thirsty lion walking toward a watering hole, only to be rebuffed by a rhino.

“Size matters at the waterhole,” Mala Mala stated via X.

The wary lion was compelled to circle widely behind the rhino and wait for the larger animal to leave before approaching to sip water.

Mala Mala Game Reserve shares an unfenced border with sprawling Kruger National Park and lies within Sabi Sands Game Reserve.

Large animal encounters are fairly common for guests on photo safaris.

Video shows lion cub on joy ride with motorists; ‘Extremely wrong’

Footage shows the young lion in the back seat of a vehicle with its head out of the window on a busy Pakistan street.

Footage showing a lion cub riding in the back seat of a vehicle on a busy Pakistan street has garnered thousands of views and stirred plenty of anger.

The accompanying clips were featured on Instagram this week by Umbreen Ibrahim Photography.

The first clip, playing to “The Lion King” tune, Hakuna Matata, shows the lion with its head out of a window as the vehicle is moving. The lion appears content, but viewers can see that it wears a chain leash.

The second clip shows other motorists’ reaction to the lion as the vehicle is stopped at a red light. One asks about the lion’s name and receives the answer, “Mufasa.”

The Hindustan Times picked out the following comments for its story about the “shocking” video:

–An individual wrote, “Extremely wrong!”

–A second shared, “How can they do this, really sad. He deserves to have a family in the forest. Spare him.”

–“How is this even allowed?” posted another.

–A fourth commented, “How innocent is this child? Innocent poor soul.”

It’s unclear if lion is a pet or if it was being delivered somewhere. But what is clear is that Mufasa appears resigned to a life of captivity.

–Image courtesy of Umbreen Ibrahim Photography

Watch: Lion bites trailer tire, leaving tourists deflated

Footage has surfaced showing a lioness popping a trailer tire in Kruger National Park as a male lion watched curiously from alongside the road.

Earlier this year we shared footage showing a bull elk using its antlers to pop the tire of a vehicle driven by a tourist who had taunted the animal.

The “perfect response” event occurred in the Rocky Mountains.

On Thursday, footage surfaced showing a female lion biting the tire of a trailer being pulled by tourists in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

The footage, captured by Ryan Badenhorst and shared by Kruger Sightings, shows the lioness backing away as air hissed from the tire.

A male lion watched curiously from a resting position alongside the road.

It was unclear why the lioness bit the tire, or how the tourists dealt with the dangerous situation.

10 cool lion facts that show why they’re kings of the jungle

These cats are the mane attraction.

Even if you’re a huge fan of “The Lion King,” you may not realize just how prominent these animals are in pop culture. Way before movies featuring adorable cartoon lions sprang into existence, African, Asian, and European cultures were depicting the lion in sculptures and paintings. Discover why these powerful animals commanded so much attention.

If asked to describe a lion, the average person would likely mention the animal’s cat-like tail, golden fur, and fluffy mane. While these basic and broad characteristics accurately describe many lions, there is a world of additional details that make this species unique. Dive into those details in Outdoors Wire’s list of lion facts.

Watch: Momma lion tries to nap but cub is ‘having none of it’

A safari company in Kruger National Park has captured adorable footage showing a lion cub craving mom’s attention.

As all mothers know, when a child craves attention there is little time for rest.

The accompanying footage, captured by Nombekana Safaris and Wildlife Photography, shows a lion cub sweetly nudging a lioness, presumably its mom, as she tries to nap in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

Rodney Nombekana captioned the video: “Watch when lioness trying to sleep and the cub is having none of it.”

Among the top comments:

—“Motherhood… no matter the species is always the same.”

—“Delightful piece of film! Mum was so patient with the cub. Equally cub was needing her attention!”

—“Absolutely adorable! So amazing to see the playfulness of the cub. Great vid thank you.”

Nombekana’s tour company specializes in day trips and informs prospective guests on its website:

“Our safaris ensure that you maximize the time you have in the national park as we are the first in the park and last out. This is important as most animals especially the cats are active early morning and late afternoon and by driving with us your chances of seeing magic happen is increased tremendously.”

Watch: Cheetah teases large male lion and gets chased

A ranger at the Mala Mala Game Reserve captured video of a once-in-a-lifetime sighting of a cheetah taunting a lion.

A ranger at the Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa captured video of a once-in-a-lifetime sighting of a cheetah teasing and taunting a large male lion, prompting a chase with a predictable outcome.

Kevan Dobbie, assistant head ranger at the game reserve, shared his video with LatestSightings. He explained:

“A young male cheetah has been seen spending quite some time around Mala Mala Game Reserves Private Airstrip. On this particular day, it was a sighting where being at the right place at the right time paid off.”

“Three of the big cat species interacted,” Dobbie told LatestSightings. “Two Ndzhenga male lions approached a young male cheetah. While a female leopard (Nkoveni) was watching the scene unfold from the eastern side of the airstrip.

“The cheetah, well aware of the lion’s presence, displayed some interesting behavior. At first, almost taunting the lion as if it were saying, ‘You can’t catch me.’

Also on FTW Outdoors: Cute video of baby elephant taking a bath ‘is so much fun’ 

“One of the Ndzhenga male lions didn’t appreciate the teasing and pursued the young male cheetah. The cheetah knew he had an advantage and kept the lion at a comfortable distance.”

Not surprisingly, the lion never did catch the cheetah.

“Eventually, the lion lost interest, and both lions plopped down and lazy lounged around the airstrip,” Dobbie said.

Photo courtesy of LatestSightings.

Watch: ‘Massive’ lion forces standoff with safari vehicle

Footage captured recently in South Africa’s Kruger National Park shows a large male lion in a brief but dramatic standoff with a safari vehicle.

When you’re on a photo safari in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, you pass the king of beasts on his terms.

The accompanying footage, featured Friday by Wildest Kruger Sightings, shows a ‘massive’ male lion in a dramatic standoff with a safari vehicle.

The driver attempts to pass as the lion has his back to the vehicle, facing a lioness napping on the road’s edge.

ALSO: Yellowstone elk has perfect response to taunts from a tourist

But in a swift about-face, issuing a roar of disapproval, the lion forces a standoff that lasts several seconds before the lion determines the threat has passed.

The passengers, only feet away, undoubtedly captured incredible images before the lion turned away.

In another dramatic display this past week in Kruger, a smaller male lion found itself facing down several angry hippos after becoming stranded on a rock in a river.

The lion leaped and began to swim when the closest hippo lunged with its enormous mouth agape. Another hippo went after the lion, but the lion was too quick.

–Image courtesy of Wildest Kruger Sightings

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Rare footage shows hippos attacking lion stranded on rock

Rare footage captured in South Africa shows several hippos confronting a lion stranded on a rock, and one hippo in full attack mode.

A lion that had become stranded on a rock in a South African river soon discovered that it had much larger problems.

The accompanying footage, featured Tuesday by Latest Sightings, shows several hippos confronting the lion and one hippo in full attack mode, forcing the lion to leap and flee toward shore.

The encounter, captured by Steyn Jacobson and witnessed by guests of South Post at Kruger, occurred on the Crocodile River in Kruger National Park.

Latest Sightings explains that several agitated hippos began to circle the rock when all of the sudden, according to Jacobson, “A big hippo went for the lion, and the lion had no choice but to jump off and into the water. In the end, another hippo went for the lion, but luckily, he missed it.”

The young male lion, possibly trying to cross the river to establish his own territory, was not injured during the encounter.

–Image courtesy of Latest Sightings

Watch: Hyena defies odds by escaping lion’s grip

A safari guide in Sabi Sands of Kruger National Park captured remarkable footage of a hyena that somehow managed to escape a lion’s grip.

A safari guide in Sabi Sands of Kruger National Park in South Africa captured remarkable footage of a hyena that somehow managed to escape the grip of a lion.

“I was responding to a leopard on a kill sighting when the scene unfolded,” Dean Robinson, 42, told Latest Sightings. “Whilst watching two hyenas steal a leopard kill, a male lion snuck up on the hyenas and managed to get hold of one. The leopard watched from the highest branches of a nearby tree as the lion tried to kill the hyena.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Leopard shocked by camouflaged hippo in its fishing hole

The video begins with the lion firming grasping the hyena, which cries for help that wasn’t forthcoming.

To be clear, the video has a happy and surprise ending, though heartbreaking to watch at first.

“Fortunately for the hyena, the lion loosened its grip for a split second and the hyena took its chance, and made a getaway,” Robinson said. “The leopard was safe in the tree, the hyena ran away and the lion left the scene.”

Latest Sightings wrote that the hyena defied the odds.

“Lions are often referred to as the ‘royals’ of the jungle – and with good reason,” Latest Sightings wrote. “As they are very dominant by nature and will take down any competition if need be. They don’t even necessarily have to eat the competitive predator – it really is just a display of dominance, to eliminate anyone in the wild they’d have to potentially fight with over food.”

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