Photos from Safari 2023

We have finally made it to the lions.

Arguably the coolest of the “Big 5” is the lion. For some reason lions stand above other animals as the most powerful, the most scary, the most majestic, etc. I don’t really know why this is. 

I can say for me personally that all of my trips to any zoo have included a deep desire to see the lion. With any luck, I would see the majestic beast with a full, impressive mane, pacing back and forth as if to be preparing for some kind of stand off or epic hunt. 

Usually I just see them sitting lazily on a rock or on the grass—far from the viewing area and nearly out of sight.

While at the zoo, I once saw a lion right up next to the glass! But it was his back pressed firmly against the glass, with his head turned in the complete opposite direction, and he was sound asleep… 

Another time, at another zoo (not a very big zoo), I saw a lion standing mere feet from the protective glass, standing tall and strong, as if he were trying to look impressive for the gathered audience. But that was the problem… this particular lion was so weak and straggly looking that the sight of his unimpressive figure and disheveled mane caused far more sympathy than scare. The collective audience no doubt felt more concern for him than from him.

That has been my experience, anyway.

So it is not surprising that I was hopeful to see a lion during our Kenyan safari. 

We did not manage to see a fully grown male lion, but we did see quite a few female lions and several lion cubs.

More lion facts, photos, and stories coming in the next couple of days…