2011-08-14 – Masai Mara G.R.

A full day at the Lions’ den, with some interesting interactions going on. The female with the newborn cubs spent the whole day nursing the babies, while the other female kept guard on her from up on the banks of the gulley. And she had quite a hard work because soon after sunrise the two males of the Marsh pride came out of the Mara river forest. Romeo, the fittest of the two, walked straight towards the Bila Shaka Lugga, while Clawed, the most battered of the two, came to the females’ hide to inspect the situation. The female on guard and the one in the den snarled and hissed repeatedly, until he left. They were on the margins of the Marsh so I consider a very strong possibility that the Marsh males are the fathers of these cubs. Clawed looked at the cubs and the two females, and decided he didn’t want to cause trouble and walked away. The rest of the day went on with the smaller cubs trying to get access to mum’s milk, while the three bigger ones bullied them away.