skimmer

Hi everyone,

Lions are probably on everyone's list while on safari...

People who look at my posts here, have probably seen a lot of these pictures in various threads but until now I never had put them together in one set.

All these pictures have been taken in Botswana over the last 3 years.

http://www.aardvarktravel.net/chat/v...ic.php?t=42936

Greetz,

Johan

cary999

Yeah, me too, lions and leopards, the big powerful cats. Although the elephant is the real "king of the jungle". Err, ahh, if any of them lived in the "jungle" Lions can be so frustrating to photograph, they spend so much time as "flat cats"!!

Nice photos, thanks for posting. My favorite is any with a little cub in it.

regards - tom

safariwannabe

Great shots - thanks for posting them.

LyndaS

Great photos, Johan - thanks for posting! I think my favorite is the one of the lions running with the buffalo (or I guess rather FOR the buffalo!) That was hard to choose though, so many good photos of lions!

atravelynn

I was transported back to Duba while looking at many of your shots.

You show the wide variety of prey for the lions from zebra to buffalo to elephant (I think) to tortoise. They're not picky.

You're probably right that lion comes to mind first for the majority when asked what to see on safari. Then there's the Giant Forest Hog Crowd.

The lion's popularityi may help their survival so they do not succumb to extinction in 20 years in Kenya, which has been a recent headline.

scruffypuma

A wonderful array of the king of beasts. I agree, everyone probably thinks of lions first....I, however, am also a fan of the lowly warthog!

divewop

Johan-
You always seem to be in the right place at the right time for such great photo opportunities. Simply amazing shots! Thank you for sharing.

Percy

Terrific photos of the Lions.

Thanks for posting, it seems lions will eat anything they can catch !

amycyma

Wonderful wonderful photos.

Thanks for putting them all together.

amy

rickmck

Some great photos... Isn't it so amazing that ordinary people -- like all of us -- can get so close to such extraordinary animals to capture photos like these... We can only hope (and work for & support) that conservation initiatives will preserve so many endangered wildlife species for future generations...

atravelynn

And as always, these are outstanding.

cary999

Yeah, rickmck, I remember watching Disney African wildlife films on TV in the late 1950's. Then many more African wildlife specials over many years. Little did I realize then that one day I would really be there seeing the same things. Sometimes we are so lucky/fortunate that we need to stop and count our blessings.

regards - tom

skimmer

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their appreciation. Sometimes I forget how excited I was to see my first lion outside a zoo...

Several factors have caused/are causing a rapid decline in lion numbers. Unfortunately some of the threats can be more easily addressed than others ...

As an individual, I fulfilled my dreams as even as a little boy I was buying books about African wildlife, watching documentaries on tv ... and I sincerely hope that future generations will have the same privilege to be able to see what I have seen.

In Botswana, I got the feeling that the lion population is more or less stabilizing ... I heard several figures ranging from +/- 800 to 2.500 and from my own observations I believe 800 is closer to the truth than 2.500.

Regards,

Johan

atravelynn

Johan, I agree that Botswana is doing ok with the lion population.

Oh yes, that first lion outside of a zoo. I remember mine.

I concur, Tom, that a collective counting of the blessings is indeed in order for those of us privileged to see lions in the wild from a vehicle or on foot with a trained guide.

andybiggs

Johan, thanks so much for sharing some of your wonderful photographs. Some great and unique images in your collection, for sure. I look forward to more, for sure.

skimmer

Andy,

Glad you enjoyed watching them. In the near future you won't see new work from me as I won't be home for some time.

Regards,

Johan

spassvogel

Botswana does not allow lion hunts for the time being in order to get the population up.
That of course supports your observations Johan.

I would love the abolish big cat hunting altogether before it's too late.

SV