Happy family, the impressive lioness, and her sweet cub are playing together gently on the grassy bank beside a waterhole. The lioness lies on her side while the cub is playing with her. The cub has its tongue out and eyes closed. Behind the two lions, you can see a large tree trunk. Also, adult lions do play fighting to train their skills.
A lioness usually gives birth to a litter of 3 or 4, but sometimes you get litters up to 6 cubs. Once born, they cannot open their eyes until they are a few days old. After that, at about 10-15 days of age, they will begin to walk. The male lions will generally play no paternal role in taking care of cubs or providing any meat for them. It is all up to the females! Lionesses also usually do the hunting for their pride. Once they have done all the hard work, the males will scoot them aside and begin eating first! It is risky being a cub, only about 50% of them survive. When they are very young, they are vulnerable to predators such as hyenas, vultures, and leopards. Once their mother introduces them to the pride, the risk isn’t over. If the pride has been taken over by another male lion, he will then kill the cubs that aren’t from his genes. Hunting activities of the cubs begin at 6 weeks of age. The babies learn by observing the adults.
The lion, Panthera Leo, is in the category vulnerable in the IUCN red list.
If you enjoy the photo of the ‘Lioness and Cub Playing,’ then please take a look at my other predator photographs of Bengal tigers fighting. In my nature photography portfolios, you can license stock photos and purchase fine art prints as wall art online.
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Karen –
That image shows so much emotion. Fantastic.
Anette Mossbacher –
Thanks so much Karen 😀