Royalty

Deb joined me today, as I visited the lions and their cubs again.

The cubs are as cute as ever, but this time, I found myself drawn more and more to focus on the parents, and especially the mothers. These lionesses are glorious creatures. While the male lion does a splendid job of posing and generally looking regal, the lionesses are working mothers: fierce, fit, alert, patient, careful, occasionally abrupt, proud.

There was a brief moment of confrontation amongst the pride, and the snarls and teeth made the hair on our necks stand, literally. These animals are fearsome; our biological selves are bred to cower from them. While we admire them for their strength and beauty, and coo over their cubs, somewhere in our atavistic bones we know that we are prey.

As you stand on the savannah, clutching a spear that’s your only defense, do you want to see this coming your way?

I seem to have caught the attention of the lioness on the left. It is just plain uncomfortable to be the object of that gaze.

The cubs are adorable, but they are the original baby-faced killers.

Even in a familiar pose, the fierceness shines through.

Okay, just to lighten the mood, here are some cute lion cubs. And a lion.