Mark Fox, Kerry Balaam and Jean Graham definitely witnessed the spectacular moment and made sure to get it on camera!
The sighting presented an optical feast, with the majestic creatures balancing in the branches, and from a distance, appearing to be stacked one on top of the other.
Lions go to extreme lengths to escape rising water
While lions aren’t naturally motivated to climb trees, these ones did so with surprising finesse. But of course, being mostly lionesses they were as nimble-footed as little ladies as they scaled the branches.
However, while these lions managed to climb the tree with relative ease, usually lions are not celebrated for their extraordinary climbing abilities, especially when compared to other big cats like leopards.
Get our Best Sightings as they Come in
When lions do climb trees it is for several reasons. One reason might be to escape the scorching heat on the ground by reaching a cooler, breezier spot in the branches.
Trees can also offer refuge from biting insects, such as flies or ticks. These are more prevalent at ground level.
In some cases, lions may climb to get a better vantage point to survey their territory or spot prey from a distance. Occasionally, they may even climb to avoid threats like aggressive elephants or buffalo.
In this case, they wanted to avoid flood waters. Climbing the tree seemed the best way to stay safe and dry.
Lionesses settle in tree branches
Most lions prefer to stay on the ground unless there’s a strong motivation to go up.
The rising floods must have been strong motivation as these lionesses didn’t just climb the tree, but even settled in its branches afterwards.
Some hung their paws over the side, and eventually caught a few winks. It possibly wasn’t the best way to lounge around, however, it was worth it, if it meant staying dry.
Meantime, some of the pride members kept a look-out, among them fairly young male lions. The tree provided the perfect platform for surveying the territory.
The tree branches weren’t quite ‘Pride Rock’ from the Lion King but for the purpose of assessing the surrounding territory so that they could decide on their next move, they were perfect.
These lions had possibly explored every area in the bushveld, and knew its every bush, crevice, rock and canyon. However, they might have failed to look ‘up’ for a place to explore, until the waters made it imperative for them to do so.
When lions encounter floodwaters, their response depends on the severity of the flooding and the terrain. Lions are generally not fond of water and will try to avoid it as much as possible.
However, during seasonal rains, areas can become waterlogged or even submerged. When faced with rising water, lions will typically seek higher ground to stay dry and safe.
In rare cases where escape routes are limited and the only high ground available is in the form of trees, lions may climb them. Once in the tree, they may stay perched until the waters recede or until they can safely move to dry land.