fbpx
Home Animals Watch Lion Cub’s Innocent Tail Tug Turn Into A Life Lesson

Watch Lion Cub’s Innocent Tail Tug Turn Into A Life Lesson

A playful cub with the tenacity of a curious child took centre stage in an early morning game drive, just outside Satara Camp in the Kruger National Park on 15 January this year.

Heather Djunga
Share this incredible sighting with your friends:

Chris Tosi had overslept, heading out at 5am, instead of 4.30am, when the camp gates open for tourists to go game viewing. However, it was just as well: a half an hour earlier it might have been too dark to see a pride of majestic lions in the early morning light, just outside the camp’s gates.

It’s never too early in the day to play

Enthralled, Chris stopped his vehicle alongside another vehicle. The engines of their cars were turned off. They didn’t want to disturb the lions, especially not a large male lion, which was sleeping peacefully alongside the road. This male was clearly the ‘Dad’ of the pride.

However, one of three cubs at the scene was not as concerned about waking up the sleeping lion. It didn’t take long for the little lion, a lioness, to steal the show and this was for good reason. She edged towards the big male lion, later identified as Casper, a large white lion male living in the area… her eye’s on the prize – Casper’s tail!

Watch the sighting:

YouTube video

Cubs will be cubs!

They say kids will be kids, and in this instance, cubs will be cubs! This little lady proceeded to prod around at the tuft of Casper’s flickering tail with a paw, the majestic lion initially unaware of the young instigator.

Playfulness is not unusual for lion cubs. In fact, lion cubs’ lively, playful interactions help build strong connections essential for the pride’s unity and stability. Through cooperative play, they develop communication and teamwork skills, which are crucial for collaborating during group tasks like hunting.

‘Dad’ wakes up

The cub’s antics no doubt left a smile on the viewers’ faces. However, Casper clearly wasn’t as amused. His eyes snapped open, as did his mouth, to reveal some awesome teeth. A male lion’s canine teeth can reach up to 7cm in length. That’s pretty scary, even if those teeth belong to your Dad.

The star of the show was at first unaware that the large animal had awakened, jumping playfully around the tail, and stalking the tail’s flickering end as though it might be the morning’s prey.
However, Casper, though not a ghost, was about to pull a scary move. He jumped up unexpectedly, and showing he was boss, the lioness cub quickly ran away.

Let sleeping lions lie

Having made his point, the majestic male fell back again against the sun-warmed tar, and closing his eyes, fell asleep to dream of buck and waterholes. There’s the expression, curiosity killed the cat, and while this little lioness cub is still alive and well, her curiosity definitely left her with a lesson she will never forget: ‘Let sleeping lions lie’.

An unforgettable lesson

She returned to her siblings a little meeker, a little wiser; having learned what ‘alpha male’ really means. The alpha male is the male which is dominant in the pride. His status comes from his ability to fight off challenges with success, and he uses his strength and dominant position to lead hunts and to defend the pride and his territory.

Chris said he couldn’t believe his luck as a few extra moments of sleep had rewarded him with a rare sighting that he will no doubt remember for years to come.


Share this incredible sighting with your friends: