Last year saw a lot of African time for me and although they were rarely the initial focus of any of it, when it came to reflecting on the year as a whole I realised that lions had been present pretty much throughout. They are of course synonymous with Africa and because they are arguably the easiest of the big cats there to come across when on safari, the fact that their numbers remain on the decline becomes easily overlooked. In the same vein, I often find that photographers can be a little hasty in wanting to move on from a pride of lions that they may have seen the previous couple of days in search of more elusive subjects: I’m not sure that watching the interactions and dynamics of a lion pride can be much bettered if wildlife experiences are at the heart of your reason for being there and the encounters I had across the continent last year certainly merited combining in this piece.
These two magnificent males were both photographed in Kenya’s Mara region one in a conservancy to the south and one to the north of the national park itself. Both were in a coalition with a brother but were at different ages and stages of their lives which is pretty evident from these couple of images. Male lions, for all of their strength and power can find themselves in some brutal situations both in terms of dishing it out and being on the receiving end and so I have always felt the old phrase “every face tells a story” could have been penned with them in mind.
Getting direct eye contact with male lions as they amble through their surroundings is surprisingly difficult – they know where they are going, no doubt consider your vehicle a bit of a pain for being there in the first place, and generally just look down and slightly ahead as they go. With only one eye even open given his recent fight this fellow made that an even greater challenge but in a strange way even more impactful in image terms when he did. It was certainly a great morning with him and his brother and their characteristic dropped lower lips.
Whilst the males are the iconic representations of the species, it’s the dynamics of cubs finding their place in the pride that can be equally as absorbing and where the time spent watching can be best rewarded: youngsters get bored when adults sleep for too long and so there is always some naughtiness just around the corner.
They seem to be much more curious when it comes to a vehicle and less uninhibited too and so on this particular morning, in Kenya’s Mara North specifically, I enjoyed trying to capture that wide eyed look that I feel sums them up so well. The first couple of images were challenging because of the grass but I’ve always loved what it can bring to an image and here it kind of exaggerated that fresh faced look even more.
This playful and curious nature can create some special image opportunities especially when they decide to sit in the right place for you too!
The deserts of Namibia have long been a huge draw for me and in previous blog posts of mine you will see how highly I rate the north west (and most remote) corner of the country as a setting in which to photograph elephants particularly. When travelling in this corner of the country I have occasionally seen lions (they are very few and far between) but usually just asleep in whatever shelter they can find from the searing sun.
This was the first time I had seen an adult male here and he had an interesting back story as an individual having been considered a nuisance to livestock in another corner of the country and transhipped in the last couple of years. He had paired up with a female called Charlie who you can just see on the right of this image. She was collared and has been since, as a youngster here, her entire family was poisoned by locals for the same misdemeanour in what became a landmark case in the country.
This dry river valley is a truly dramatic place to be and so when returning down it later in the day he had got up to make his way to a waterhole not only was it clear where to be with the vehicle, it was also time for a mid zoom lens. I have long dreamed of photographing lion in this wider setting and although the opportunity was not long it was very memorable.
He was soon allowed by Charlie and it was great to see their clear affection for each other. Lions lead much more solitary existences in this exceptionally hard corner of the continent and so you really felt that they appreciated each other just that little bit more than is normal. Charlie had to be euthanised just a month or so after this encounter as she inexplicably killed a tourist camping in the valley so there is a further poignancy here too.
Moremi, Savuti and Chobe are names and areas that trip off the tongue when it comes to classic safari locations in Botswana, and mobile camping through them in the middle of the year is a regular highlight of any 12 months for me. The array of wildlife is excellent and there are always lions of all guises to enjoy – male female and of course cubs.
A couple of extended encounters really stood out for me this year. The first involved a coalition of two males both of whom had faces that told all the tales of their lifetime of encounters. One was sporting a pretty unpleasant open gash by his nose too but it was clear just how strong their relationship was whenever they came together.
That gash certainly looked sore and no wonder he was glad of some support from his brother. Further north, the dominant male of a larger pride in Savuti also offered a great portrait opportunity as he had settled in the shade in the middle of the sandy road – it provided a lovely background when he occasionally sat up to survey the scene mind.
He was a pretty grumpy fellow though and the following morning decided to give a young sub-adult male a proper reminder just who was in charge in a dusty scuffle which demonstrated just where those multiple scars on their faces begin, before making sure everyone in the area heard just who was top cat.
Winter in the low veld of South Africa is surprisingly chilly such is the seasonality here, but the dry bare bushy type of habitat revealed at this time of year is full of character. It’s also my favourite place to invest time in looking for leopards as I have written about before here. Whilst that may be the focus there is no way I am going to pass up the opportunity to spend time with the lions of the region especially on a wonderfully misty morning, in the aftermath of an early kill or as the glow of the setting winter sun sets as this trio of images hopefully explain.
As if to complete the circle, my African year ended back in Kenya but this time in the south of the country and this involved a number of nights in the exceptional hides in the Shompole region. The night time sessions there were long (16 hours or so each time) but the hides are pretty comfortable and spacious as well as being well equipped. I have always been a bit unsure about night hide photography in this part of the world, fearing that images might all have the same sort of feel, but I needn’t have worried as with the usual thought in terms of composition and the exceptional flexibility and control the lighting setups there offer then when a small pride of lions came to visit at around 3am one morning there were opportunities aplenty.
For a year that hadn’t started with lion portfolio development as a goal it was a fitting end and a reminder too that being flexible to what nature offers up and recognising when it’s time to embrace it is so often the best approach.