Mara Lion Cubs

Often searching for the big cats theres an anticipation when being told at breakfast that there were cubs about. The word cub can have a lot of meanings, sometimes they are very young, weeks old, other times they are months old and often the same size as their mother.

The young ones are great fun to photograph as they are so full of energy and playfulness.

I’ve had several encounters with young cubs, most have been full of fun and laughter.

One occasion was when entering Mara I came across a small pride of females with six cubs all the same age about a few weeks old. The adult females were sleeping off a recent kill but the cubs had other ideas and were full playfulness. Most will be well developed but there’s often a runt whose on its own or not the full shilling.

They play fight, all good training for the future. The cubs will cover large distance with the pride and will walk among the adults.

Care has to be taken when the males are trying to take over a pride as they will kill the cubs of other lions to preserve their lineage.

As they grow they will take part in the hunt, sometimes being more of a hindrance than a help.

The females are given the responsibility of educating the cubs. I watched a female showing two cubs how to cross a river by using a fallen tree trunk. They were taken over the river several times to ensure they knew the safest route.

The cubs know their place when it comes to eating at the kill. Ive seen males and females forcibly moving cubs away until the adults have had their fill.

The youngest I’ve seen was only a few weeks old. the mother was in the process of moving them to a new den. She grabbed each of the four cubs in her mouth individually and moved them to a new den.