The Serengeti is home to many, many lions. Even so, they are not easy to find as they are most active in the early morning and at night. During the day they are resting and digesting in the shade of trees and rocks.
We had the great fortune to have guides who could find them and so we saw many of them.
We were surprised to discover that there is more than one dominant male, especially if the pride is large. One pride which had more than 17 members had 3 dominant males, all who lived peacefully together. Our guide explained that it would be impossible for one male to protect the many females and their cubs. This explained why we saw a couple of males resting peacefully side by side.
We also discovered that at 2 years of age, male cubs are expelled from the pride and for the next two years they band together with other "bachelors" where they gain strength, working together until they are strong enough to challenge the dominant male of a pride. If successful, they take over the pride. Some of them continue in the group of bachelors for the rest of their lives.
It was all fascinating and we saw lions in many different places and situations.
we came across cubs playing
We saw lions in trees
We saw lions on the rocks
We watched the lions mating.
There is no doubt that the lion is the king of the beasts.
When the lion is around all others dash away, the birds chirp a warning to all and the antelope and zebra scatter. When they eat though the hyennas arrive and wait until the lions are finished, the vultures also wait patiently for the hyennas to finish. They are close by with no fear.
It seemed like there were lions everywhere, and no where all at the same time. At night we could hear them roaring as they announced their presence to the rest of the pride, especially when they had killed and it was time to eat.
Magnificent animals! We got so close to them it was surreal!
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