We had received reports that one of the females part of the Ntsevu pride had recently given birth to a new litter.
None of us had yet seen any of the newest cubs, until they were finally found on the eastern banks of Londolozi.
Ranger Nick Sims and Tracker Life Sibuye had found tracks of one lioness and superimposed on top of them were tracks a tenth of the size.
Hearing this on the radio I was immediately excited as we now had the chance of seeing the newest cubs and we believed they were only about six weeks old.
There were three of us working in the area in search for the lions when Nick found them.
We took turns in viewing the lioness and her cub as they were on the move, and we wanted to ensure we did not put any unnecessary pressure on the pair.
After waiting for an hour it was finally our turn to watch as they moved over a crest. The excitement and overwhelming sense of joy oozing from our vehicle was almost tangible as we watched the 6-week old cub bound after its mother, struggling to even run through the new green blades of grass.
We had followed the female for well over a kilometre by now. The cub was loudly expressing its tiredness as it whined at the mother for assistance or at least a short break. We couldn’t believe our luck when the mother stooped down and gently picked the cub up to carry it into the thicket
We had a feeling the mother was walking to a possible kill as she had the faint colour of blood around her neck. We didn’t want to jump to any conclusions…
The lioness slowed down and we briefly lost sight of them through a thick area while off-roading, but as we emerged through the thicket we saw something breathtaking; other lions from the pride were on a kudu kill:
Seeing lions on a kill is special enough, but how we got there, trailing a lioness carrying her cub, took the afternoon to a whole other level.
Awwwh. It is such a special sighting.
Hi Guy you made my day! What a wonderful experience, to follow a lioness and her small cub! She clearly trusts you. Do you know if it is a male or a female?
What an afternoon treat Guy !! Such an overload of cuteness it’s hard to imagine them growing into killing machines! Just super 🙏🏻💕
The Cub is so tiny!! Exciting video to see from afar!
How special! Thank you
Wow, Guy, what a sighting! And the little one is just soo cute. I love the video clips.
Thanks Guy! What a special sighting! We loved seeing the cub chasing the mother and heard the little squeaks! Cute!
Incredible sighting! The cub was unfazed by the proximity of the vehicle.
James, I loved the video🤗. Keep them coming
Guy, I loved the video🤗
What a special moment
Oh, how fortunate to see such a young cub, moving as fast as it could on those little stubby legs, only to finally give up-mom to the rescue. It’s odd she has only one little one, perhaps losing others to predators or natural causes. Doesn’t a lioness usually birth 2-3 cubs?
On another note, was this lioness part of the Mhagene pride of split-off females?
Looking forward to more photos of this cub!
Incredible video footage Guy!! What an amazing series of events. Thanks for capturing and sharing them with us!!
A just wonderful sighting! The little cub is so huggable and to see the mom pick it up and carry her is something I’ve always wanted to see. Yes, I’m jealous!
How cute was that?! Amazing little bundle! Wow.
Amazing video!!
Awesome shots!!!!
Couldn’t be any cuter! How fragile life can be… and then watch out! Absolutely amazing
Thank you for the great work and sharing😍
Can one tiny cub stand up to all of the big subadults? Seems risky….especially on a kill……hopefully, the lioness will continue to hide the cub for a bit longer….she was hungry and needed some pride time!
You and the team won 3 ways that day. Seeing the cub…then witnessing the mother carry it….and finally the kill. I too am amazed that at 6 weeks the cub wasn’t totally frightened by the rovers closeness. Also striking was following the mother carrying her cub into the brush. She allowed the rover to be that close! Were she alone I could see how she would allow you tracking so closely …. but with her small cub? I fully expected her to unmouth the cub, turn to you and give a loud back-off snarl!! She truly trusts you.
How fabulous..what an amazing sighting!!
How lucky you were, Guy! All I can say is …..aaaaah
That is truly a lovely blog, Guy! Thanks so much. Little lions are such cuties! Wendy M