Watch the video here:
Brett Devitt submitted this short video to Latest Sightings. He filmed it at Andbeyond Tengile in South Africa’s Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve.
Escape attempt
As Brett’s video rolls, we see an adorable sight. Her head poking out from a thicket, a lioness looks on as her tiny cub makes a dash for freedom.
Judging by its minute size, the cub is only a week or two old. Lions give birth to up to 6 cubs after a 100-day gestation period.
No, you don’t!
Seeing this, the mother is quick to put an end to her cubs’ escape attempt. Gently, she leans forward, opens her mouth and carefully retrieves the youngster.
You might think such an act would injure the cub. However, as is so often the case, Nature has a plan.
Like all cats, cubs go limp when their mothers pick them up this way.
This process is called ‘traction reflex’, and it ensures that the cub does not wriggle, thereby risking injury while in her mouth.
Back in Mama’s paws
Effortlessly, the lioness lifts the cub. In the video, you can see that the little one’s body is entirely limp as she does so.
Having brought her cub back to safety, it at first looks like she wants to groom the baby lion. Lions groom themselves and one another using their coarse tongues, which remove dirt and some parasites.
Beyond hygiene, the grooming of cubs has other important uses. As her powerful tongue moves across the cub’s body, it stimulates circulation. Additionally, it causes the release of oxytocin, a chemical that helps strengthen the mother-cub bond.
Change of plan
All that said, after a few moments, it turns out that Mum has changed her mind. Consequently, she once again picks up her cub and emerges from the thicket.
When a lioness is ready to give birth, she typically leaves the rest of the pride. Then, she finds a suitable den site, either in dense bush or a rock outcrop, where her litter will be hidden from predators.
Over time, these sites can be compromised by parasite infestation, scent accumulation, or discovery. As such, it’s common for mothers to move their cubs from time to time.
A long way to grow
As she emerges, we get to appreciate the massive size difference between mother and cub. At birth, cubs will weigh around 1.3 kilograms (3 lbs).
Fully grown, males and females can reach weights of 150 – 260 kg (330 – 570 lbs) and 120 – 180 kg (260 – 400 lbs), respectively.
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Indecisive
After seemingly weighing up her options, the lioness heads into another nearby thicket.
However, it seems that whatever she found there was not to her liking. After all, when you’re raising African royalty, only the best will do.
Much ado about nothing
Subsequently, she turns around and reappears from the depths of the bush…
As Brett’s video draws to its conclusion, the lioness heads back to where the story began. Having decided she was in the right place all along, we leave the pair as she disappears into the cool shade once more.
While her behaviour is curious, she seems to know what she is doing. After all, who in their right mind is going to tell her otherwise?