Curious
Zimbabwe, Africa
A lioness will leave the pride to give birth to her cubs while hidden in dense bush. Newborn cubs are quite helpless; their eyes aren’t even open until they are 3-11 days old. But they are quick developers and they start walking by 2 weeks and can run by 4 weeks. Lion cubs drink only milk for the first 10 weeks. The weaning process is usually complete when the cubs are 10 months old. By one year they are exclusively eating meat.
Lion cubs, also called whelps and lionets, are rather bold explorers by nature. In many cases this can put them directly in harm’s way. All lion cubs face high mortality for a host of reasons, including injuries, lack of food, illness and being killed by adult lions or other predators. On average, only half of cubs reach adulthood.
While mom was sleeping, this cub came to investigate the visitors to Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Fortunately for the cub they were friendly, and only interested in observing. I like the natural framing of the cub by the lionesses’ limbs, and the single nipple in view, reminding the viewer of their ongoing connection. Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.
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