There’s no instruction manual for life, and the same is true for wild animals. Here, a lion cub takes time to decide on its dietary preferences.
Lee Whittam submitted this cute footage to Latest Sightings. He filmed it while guiding in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park.
Will you play with me?
Lee told Latest Sightings that he had been watching a pride of lions socialising when his attention was drawn to one of the young cubs.
The cub was moving from one lion to the next, hoping to find a playmate. As social creatures, lions thrive in an interactive environment.
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Not interested
However, it seemed that none of the other lions were in the mood. While some slept, others busied themselves with grooming.
Even its normally playful sibling seemed disinterested in the poor little creature. Next, the cub tried to entice his mother, but she needed her rest ahead of the coming night’s hunt.
So, what is a sociable young lion to do when nobody wants to play? The only thing to do is to keep trying.
A promising cuddle
Consequently, the sociable youngster approached its sibling once again. As it approached, things were looking promising.
After rubbing heads together in a typical lion greeting, the cub lay down, perhaps hoping to get a game going.
However, the other cub was too lazy, so the cub moved on, determined to find entertainment of some description.
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Exploring other options
Having run out of other lions to play with, the cub started exploring other options. For starters, it tried nibbling on a dry twig.
But, as you can imagine, that wasn’t much fun. Maybe it would be better if it tried something greener. Nearby, it found some reeds to chew.
However, they, too, were not all that appetising. The cub looked around for something else to sink its teeth into.
The cub’s behaviour is a reflection of its curiosity about the world it lives in. Each object it explores plays a part in developing its understanding of its environment. In this instance, can I eat it?
Purpose or distraction?
Finally, the youngster settled on another stand of reeds. Green and juicy, the plant seemed to have something the others didn’t.
As he played with the leaves, he was unconsciously practising his paw-eye coordination. Simultaneously, he’d found something that could help with teething.
Although lions are carnivores, they do occasionally eat plant matter. This may be to rid themselves of internal parasites, or possibly works as an aid to digestion.
While we can’t be sure whether the cub got either of these benefits, it did serve to distract him from his boredom at having no one to play with.
