Do lions climb trees?
This is something I am often asked while out on game drive at Londolozi. Let’s have a look at some of the evidence we have gathered over the years to answer this question.
The Tsalala Pride – comfortable in the branches of a large Ebony tree. I have personally seen the late Tsalala pride twice in this particular ebony tree, which hangs over the Manyelethi River in the northern section of Londolozi.
Firstly, in order to climb a tree, cats need to have Retractible claws. This feature is one of the traits that groups together lions, leopards, jaguars and tigers (along with their ability to roar) into the genus Panthera. Retractible claws have several benefits, such as: i) the claws are kept in a sheath when not used and are thereby kept sharp and clean; ii) silent movement when stalking prey; iii) razor-sharp hooks that are used to grip onto prey during a hunt; and iv) the ability to grip onto tree trunks to climb. To be completely correct, the claws are technically not “retractable” as at rest they are within a sheath. Rather one should say that the claws can be pushed out when needed. Read James Tyrrell’s in-depth discussion on lions’ claws here.
Leopards know all too well that hyenas can not climb (as they have claws that are permanently out) and thus often pull their kills into the tops of trees to avoid thievery from scavenging hyenas. From time to time, leopards are unpleasantly surprised when a lion scales the trunk of the tree in which the leopard has stashed its kill, in order to scavenge from the leopard… Yes, lions scavenge too. Here’s some evidence from a sighting of the Tsalala pride stealing a kill from the Ximpalala young female in 2013.
The late Tsalala Lionesses, stealing an impala kill from a leopard in 2013. Not only is it strange to see lions in a tree, but two of these three lionesses are lacking a tail too. The original Tailless female is at the bottom, her daughters above her. The lack of a tail would definitely have made climbing the tree slightly more difficult due to a lack of a counterbalance weight.
A Tsalala lioness makes a break for it with an impala carcass she had just stolen. Unfortunately for the leopard, in this case the lion were still able to reach the kill. Sometimes leopards will hide kills right in the tops of tree-crowns or in trees that are too thick for lions to negotiate.
Some of the most famous tree climbing lions in Africa are those from Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, from Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania and more locally, a pride from Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in Kwa-Zulu Natal. However, it is quite clear that Londolozi has its fair share of tree-climbing lions too. A recent sighting of the Ntsevu pride and their 12 cubs rooted this theory for me:
Lion cubs love to explore. This young Ntsevu pride cub was running up and down the branches of a slanted-over Knobthorn. Here it looked back to where its siblings were climbing just out of frame.
Albeit still young and playful, we were luck enough to have four or five cubs climbing up and down a slanted Knobthorn tree trunk right next to us. One young male managed to reach a fork about 12 feet up and stayed there for an extended period, seemingly trying to work out how to get back down!
Even adult male lions can climb, albeit not very well… The Hip-Scarred Majingilane in 2013 captured heading into a Marula tree to try and reach an impala carcass that had been hoisted by a leopard.
Lions are not the most graceful of climbers, and are completely outmatched in the treetops by leopards. Their vastly superior strength, however, can result in deadly consequences for a leopard should it find itself cornered.
But why do lions climb trees? They aren’t trying to get away from other predators like leopards, as nothing is bigger or more powerful than lions out in the African savannah. It could be: i) for play, in the case of cubs; ii) to find a breeze to cool off in areas with little cover; iii) to avoid biting insects at ground level; iv) to scavenge from leopards’ hoisted kills; or v) merely out of curiosity and because they can!
Whatever the reasoning may be, it is pretty impressive to see the agility of these hugely powerful cats that never cease to surprise us out here. Will the Tsalala lionesses new cubs (still yet to be seen clearly – rumours that there are three of them) continue the Tsalala pride legacy of tree-climbing? Or maybe the Ntsevu pride’s current cubs just continue climbing trees into adulthood? Unlikely but it’s great to be hopeful!
We saw a lioness many years ago in Kruger high up in a Marula tree with seven male lions around the base of the tree waiting for her to come down. We have also seen young cheetah up in a tree, although not very high.
Something we’ve never seen!
It did bring to mind an amusing morning when we saw a playful leopard cub learning to climb a tree under the watchful eye of the mother who was stretched out comfortably underneath. It was quite humorous as the cub tried to descend. Instead of going down, after each attempt it actually climbed higher. Watching it try to figure it out was amazing. Finally, after several attempts, it scampered down and raced over to its mother. (We projected that it was beaming with pride!)
Very interesting! I so enjoyed the photos too. I cannot imagine the poor leopard’s heart rate when a lion or lioness comes up the tree after the leopard’s kill.
All fascinating images! Especially the rare shot of the lion and leopard in the same tree along with the image of the full grown male scaling the tree toward a kill. Great job!
I have seen lion cubs in trees in Sabi Sands but they weren’t that high up
Great post Pete, We have never seen lions in trees in all our visits. Especially love the Hip-Scar male trying his best! Too funny!
Fascinating subject Pete. We’ve seen tree climbing lions in Lake Manyara and watched tigers climbing trees in Tiger Canyon. What seems most interesting is the ease with which tigers smoothly climb and the awkwardness that lions seem to exhibit. They don’t seem to have the same sense of balance but it’s always a treat to see. We look forward to that possibility at Londolozi.
There are also very famous tree-climbing lions in the Serengeti too!
Good blog. In all my trips to Southern Africa I’ve never witnessed a lion up a tree, but it doesn’t surprise me. Super picture of the leopard and lion facing off in the tree. I think I know who won that round.