Safari goer Edrich Badenhorst was lucky enough to film this touching moment when a pride of lions reunited a member they must have thought lost.
Edrich took the footage on the S114, in the Kruger National Park near Skukuza, and the joy of the lions when they realized who they’d found can’t help but bring a smile to anyone’s face.
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It is unknown exactly what separated this lioness from the rest of her pride, but it reportedly took three days for them to find her again, making this reunion all the more special to witness.
Calling For Contacts
First, Edrich saw the female by herself in the bush. Alone, the lioness was fairly static and didn’t actually appear to be putting much effort into searching for the rest of her pride.
She does call out repeatedly, though, and the deep rumbling of big cats like these can travel surprising distances. These are contact calls, and lions use them as a way to find each other when they are out of sight from one another, as they were here.
Those watching lions will hear them most commonly when lionesses are summoning their cubs from wherever they might be playing their games, but adults and other animals also use them as cues to hone in on each other.
The Glimmer Of Hope
After three days, the prospect of recovery by the rest of the pride might have seemed remote at best, but she was likely still within the pride’s territory.
Lions aren’t nomadic creatures, which means that once they’ve established their territory, they will stay there for a considerable period of time. As long as this lioness stayed in the area, it was only a matter of time before the others picked up on her calls.
When a group of adult lions revealed themselves coming up the road, the lioness cautiously examined them. These might be a rival pride that would attack her, and she stayed hunched down and ready to run until she knew they were familiar.
A Joyful Reunion
As soon as she’d confirmed that she knew the lions, the lonely female hurried out to greet them. What made the scene even more powerful was that the pride hurried to welcome her back as well.
It was an emotional moment as they all rushed to be the first to greet her upon her return and then surrounded her. After three long days, the pride was reunited, and they were clearly all very happy about it.
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A Family Reunited
In lion prides, once a male cub is fully grown, it will leave the pride and join another to ensure there is no inbreeding in the group. Female lions stay with the pride and many lionesses in the group are related to each other.
This wasn’t just a pride welcoming a missing member, it was a family that was glad to see their sister was still alive and well after being absent for several days. It’s a moment of relief that all families can relate to.
