Who knew that so many lions could be so orderly?
The accompanying footage, captured in South Africa’s Mala Mala Private Game Reserve, shows a pride of 20 lions descending a river bank one after another to sip water. Eventually, as each lion snuggles into its spot, all are drinking at once.
The footage was captured during the past week by Nadav Ossendryver, founder and CEO of Latest Sightings, a social media company that shares wildlife imagery.
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Mala Mala is within the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, along the Sand River, and part of the Greater Kruger ecosystem. Ossendryver and crew were filming for an upcoming TV show called Safari Sightings, and after watching elephants drink from the river the scene involving the lions developed.
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Ossendryver wrote in a blog post:
“From the sandbank behind the elephants, out pops two ears. Since we were on an island in the river itself, the sandbank was quite a lot higher from us, so we could only see two ears at first, but we immediately knew it was a lion. That lion came down the ridge and started drinking right in front of us.
“We looked up back on to the sandbank, and suddenly another lion popped out, and another and another! This was the Kambula Lion Pride that we had found. We started hoping that they would all come down to drink in a line, as lions do on a rare occasion. Our prayers were answered!”
The one drawback was that their vehicle tires sank in the mud as they watched the lion pride. Ossendryver and crew had to be rescued by Mala Mala employees with a tractor, but this hardly dampened their spirits.
“What an eventful last morning of filming!” Ossendryver exclaimed. “I can’t wait to show this and many other incredible sightings on the Safari Sightings TV show!”
The show will air in a few weeks on People’s Weather, DSTV channel 180.
–Images courtesy of Latest Sightings