Just LION around! This lion cub has found the purr-fect play toy, trying to catch it's mothers tail as she swats flies away. The pride were photographed by Dr Akash Akinwar in Masai Mara, Kenya.
The dental surgeon said, "Lions are typically found in groups known as prides usually made up of a group of lionesses and cubs. I observed a lioness sleeping while using her tail to swat away flies. Meanwhile, one of her cubs was playing with her tail by attempting to catch and bite it. Surprisingly, the mother lioness did not seem annoyed by this behavior."
"Instead, she showed affection towards her playful cub by hugging and licking it. they started to play with each other. One of the cubs continued to play with the mother lioness's tail, and she responded by hugging and licking the same cub."When and where were these shots taken?
The shots were taken at Masai Mara, Kenya
Is it common to see families of lions here?
Yes, Lions are usually seen in groups or families called Pride.
Can you describe what is happening in these images? Was the mother annoyed by her cub doing this? what was her reaction like?
Sleeping lioness was keeping flies away by its tail. and the cub was playing with the moving tail of lioness. Cub was trying to catch & bite her tail. Mother was not annoyed , infact she started loving her cub by hugging and licking.
Can you give us an insight into the moments leading up to this as well as directly after?
When i reached the spot, Cubs were drinking mothers milk, After that they started playing with each other. But one of the 3 cubs was playing with mothers tail and later on mother hugged and licked the same cub. Later on all of them went inside the grass.
How were you able to capture these images?
Being at the right spot and after patiently waiting for the moment, I could capture all these moments.