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Mike Kirkman recorded this unusual aquatic excursion and submitted his account to Latest Sightings. He witnessed it on a game drive at MalaMala Private Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger.
Mike said, “I had followed the lioness to a thicket where she called her cubs who were hidden. Once they came out, we followed them to the river where they lay down in the water.”
Kirkman added that the lions had killed a buffalo nearby, explaining why they were there in the first place.
Ordinarily, lions only enter the water when scavenging or crossing a river. In this case, however, they appeared to be doing so for pleasure.
Mom leads the way
After the mother lion led her cubs to the water, they showed no hesitation in following her. This suggests that it was not the first time they’d gone swimming.
Refreshing?
The mother lion duly lay in the shallows, allowing the water to flow along her flanks. It is probably safe to assume she entered the water to cool down.
Adorably, her cub came over for a quick head rub with Mom before heading off to play with its sibling.
A once-off?
When Mike returned the following day, the lions were again found in the water, proving that this was something they’d done before.
On this occasion, both the lioness and the Charleston Pride male were in the water. Said Kirkman, “These lions [were] known to lie in shallow water, but I had never seen them as deep as this and evidently enjoying being cooled off.”
Play-time
While the adults enjoyed a good soak, the cubs took the opportunity to play. First on the agenda was a game of “My Stick”…
That was followed by a few rounds of “Bush-Tag”. All the while, the cubs would have been getting some exercise while strengthening their bonds…
Practicing their ambush skills…
and honing their chasing skills…
After all the play, there was only one thing missing…
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Meal Time
After enjoying a refreshing dip, the big male was the first to feel peckish.
He made his way over to the buffalo carcass and was soon tearing off big chunks of juicy flesh. In typical lion fashion, he got to eat while the rest of the family had to wait their turn.
Eventually he had his fill and returned to the cool water. This meant it was time for the cubs to enjoy their meal and they tucked in with gusto.
Mike’s theory
As mentioned, cats generally don’t like water. Mike thinks the lioness, also the aunt of the male, had “taught” the behaviour to the other members of the pride.
Of the other large cats, leopards are known to catch fish from shrinking pools. Meanwhile, tigers and jaguars regularly bathe and frequently hunt prey in the water.
Of all cats, the fishing cat of southeast Asia is the most at home in the water, even known to dive after fish.
Which all goes to show, that just when we think we know something, Nature is always ready to show us an unexpected new behaviour.