Lioness Portrait At Night (Panthera leo)

            Sabi Sabi Game Reserve
South Africa
Near Kruger National Park

Happy Catrurday!

On one of our evening game drives, we received a call from another guide of a lioness at rest. The light was provided by one of the trackers from another jeep at the scene. In the private reserves, you are allowed to stay out at night far longer than in the national parks. We stayed with her for about thirty minutes. 

The lion (Panthera leo) is a species in the cat family (Felidae). The lion is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females with a typical weight range of 150 to 250 kg (331 to 551 lb) for the former and 120 to 182 kg (265 to 401 lb) for the latter. Male lions have a prominent mane, which is the most recognizable feature of the species. 

A lion pride consists of a few adult males, related females and cubs. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The species is an apex and keystone predator, although they scavenge when opportunities occur. 

Typically, the lion inhabits grasslands and savannas but is absent in dense forests. It is usually more diurnal than other big cats, but when persecuted it adapts to being active at night and at twilight. In the Pleistocene, the lion ranged throughout Eurasia, Africa and the Americas from the Yukon to Peru but today it has been reduced to fragmented populations in Sub-Saharan Africa and one critically endangered population in western India.

It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 because populations in African countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes for concern. - Source Wikipedia

Taken in: South Africa / Mpumalanga / Bushbuckridge / Sparta (show map)

Taken on: October 2, 2015

Tags:

South Africa 2015

Sabi Sabi Game Reserve

Near Kruger National Park

African Lion

Panthera leo

Felidae family

Sexually Dimorphic

Pride

Hunt Together

Mostly Eat Large Ungulates

Apex and Keystone Predator

Active At Night

IUCN Vulnerable

43% Decline Since 1990s

Habitat Loss

Conflicts With Humans

Sue Roehl

Lumix DMC-GH4

COTH5

Sunrays+5 « less

Sets appears in: • South Africa, Sept/Oct 2015 Part 2

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