People often consider lions to be kings of the wild because their impressive manes resemble a crown around their heads, but it’s also because of the regal way they behave.
As an apex predator at the top of the food chain, a lion doesn’t have to respect the rules of anyone or thing, except its own, and this includes human-made roads.
Nick Dale caught this lion pride on camera as they got in the way of traffic, forced the vehicles to stop and wait, and never once took any notice of the people around them while they did it.
Joining The Convoy
The lions were patiently moving down the side of the road in the night, and they looked like they’d managed to spread themselves out pretty far. Some of them even had the time to lie down and rest ahead of the main group.
Only a few big cats were moving at the beginning of Nick’s footage, and they were in single file along the edge of the road at first, which made it appear that Nick’s vehicle had just joined the rear of the big cat convoy.
Forced Into Motion
Unfortunately, those lions that were resting, mostly some lionesses, were doing so in the way of the cars and trucks that would be coming through, and as they got caught in the glare of the approaching headlights they decided to move on.
A large male lion had set a steady pace though, refusing to let the following vehicle force it into hurrying, and the lionesses quickly matched this pace.
Full Family Outing
If this pride was heading out for a hunt, then they’d made sure to have all hands, or paws, on deck for the event, with one of them looking much closer to a cub than an adult lion.
It was able to focus, and keep up with the adults, indicating that this smaller cat was learning the finer points of lion lifestyles from the adults, such as how to hunt, and other skills necessary for survival.
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A Busy Night
The road that this lion pride had chosen for its little jaunt turned out to be quite a busy one, as a long trail of cars came from the other direction as well. It was at this moment that the lions decided to display some authority and lay in the middle of the road without moving.
It was there that they stayed, refusing to make way or be intimidated by any of the vehicles that were bearing down on them, or slowing to watch them lounging about.
The Pride Sticks Together
It was only after some time that they started moving again, and it quickly became clear why they were moving so slowly. One of them appeared to have an injured paw, and the rest of the pride had slowed their speed to keep pace with this individual.
This is one of the benefits to living in a pride. A solitary animal might be unable to survive with such an injury, and this lion would have been unable to hunt for itself.
With the pride to rely on, though, things weren’t looking so bad for it, and its fellow cats would keep it safe on the road to their destination, regardless of how many cars they had to block to do so.