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Lions live for 10–14 years in
the wild. Males can weigh up to 550 lb. In the wild, males seldom live longer than 10 years, as injuries sustained from continual
fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions
consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together,
preying mostly on zebra, buffalo, rhino, hippo, hog, giraffe, and antelope. Lions are primary predators
although they scavenge as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have been known to do so. Sleeping
mainly during the day, lions are primarily nocturnal, although they hunt during twilight and sometimes during the day.
There was one that was chasing prey and actually went under the raised open air dining area at one of the camps while
I was eating lunch.
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This was the first lion that we saw.
Our guide indicated that he was getting up in years and would not be with us much longer.
This young male was of the age that he had been driven out of his"cub" pride by the dominant male and was on his own. Hopefully he will survive to form a pride of his own some day.
We found these six lion cubs hidden by their mothers so that they could
hunt.
But like all kids, they were not minding too well
They were prowling around seeing what mischief they could get into.
Or just enjoying the sun. We watched them for a good hour.
The leopard the smallest of the four "big cats" the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard is now chiefly found in sub-Saharan Africa. Because of its declining range and population, it is listed as a "Near Threatened" species on the IUCN Red List. The leopard has relatively short legs and a long body with a large skull Its fur is marked with rosettes similar to those of the jaguar, but the leopard's rosettes are smaller and more densely packed, and do not usually have central spots as the jaguars do. The species' success in the wild is in part due to its opportunistic hunting behavior, its adaptability to habitats, its ability to run at speeds approaching 36 mph, its unequaled ability to climb trees even when carrying a heavy carcass, and its notorious ability for stealth. The leopard consumes virtually any animal that it can hunt down and catch. Its habitat ranges from rainforest to desert terrains. Leopards are agile and stealthy predators. They are able to take large prey due to their massive skulls that facilitate powerful jaw muscles. Head and body length is usually between 35 and 65 in. The tail reaches 24 to 43 in long. Shoulder height is from 18 to 31 in. The muscles attached to the scapula are exceptionally strong, which enhance their ability to climb trees. They are very diverse in size. Males are about 30% larger than females, weighing 66 to 200 lb compared to 51 to 130 lb for females. Large males of up to 200 lb have been documented in the Kruger.
We
came across this big guy asleep in a tree. He was not happy about being woken up.
Oh ooh, he is coming down out of the tree - what
now?
Okay,
he's down and headed the other way. Resume breathing!
Actually we were not in any danger as we were in the van and taking the photos through the open windows using bean bag rests. I would imagine that we could have rolled up the windows rapidly if he came our way.
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