Two days ago I talked of a sighting in which we had found the Ingrid Dam female with a kill hoisted in a Jackalberry tree.
Well while that was happening the Styx pride of lions were found near the Sand River, but they were lying deep in some Spikethorn thickets and difficult to see as a result.
We stayed with the leopard quite late in the morning, but it was a cloudy day so on the way back to camp we decided to stop at the lions to see if they were moving.
Turns out it was a good decision.
As we arrived we saw that the pride had come out onto the sand on the southern bank of the river.
When it comes to wildlife photography, it’s almost always best to go for the money shot (ideally once you’ve banked a few photos to remember the sighting), so we decided to park on the other side of the stream, mainly just in the hope that we could get some front-on shots of the pride drinking, should any of them get thirsty.
As it turns out, we got way luckier than that!
One of the lions got up and slowly wandered down to the water, and after a quick drink, leaped over the stream. Lions don’t like to get their feet wet, and often when one does something the others will follow, so we waited with bated breath, thinking the others might do the same..
And they did:
The bulk of the pride have a look at the water, wondering which their best crossing point will be.
Choosing a slightly narrower section of the stream, the first few start leaping across, watched by a large giraffe bull in the bushes in the background.
Following the example of the first lioness, the rest go leaping over…
Even when it’s only a couple of centimetres deep, lions will hiss at the water in an attempt to scare off any crocodiles that might be lurking…
No crocodiles: go for it.
The pride eventually lay up on the northern bank before retreating into the thickets.
This particular crossing point is frequented by herbivores coming to drink during the day. The pride were clearly hoping to ambush something coming down to the river, but it ended up being a quiet day and they didn’t manage to grab a meal.
It’s not often you get to see a whole pride jumping over water like that, no matter how small the stream was, so coming on top of the leopard that we had found earlier, we were pretty thrilled with a successful morning.
Always a surprise awaiting around the corner!
Great sighting and fantastic photography!
Great photos Nick. Cover shot is fabulous. Thanks
What a great sighting! And a fantastic opportunity for photographs! You did well! Love the leaps.
Love the photo of the lion hissing. Didn’t know they did that.
Didn’t know that lions spit at water “just in case” there is something nasty with teeth under the water. One has to be awfully careful these days, doesn’t one? Wendy M
Nick, loved the photos of the lions trying to jump over the water 🤗
Love the photo’s of the growling ‘water’ lioness & the leap!
What a catch for you, after the Ingrid Dam sighting- that was an A+ drive and I’m sure it kept your guests talking about the experience for days to come!👏📷
Part of your success was being lucky to see them jump but the larger share of your success was your decision to check on them one last time before returning to the lodge and then positioning the vehicle in the perfect spot for the shot! Congratulations on a GREAT sighting!!!
What an exciting morning. Great to see lions leaping a stream or small river! Mostly we have found them asleep or walking on the road next to the car! Wish I had been there! Victoria
I think I would have been very happy with that. Lions 🦁 when on the move are very photogenic, but too many times I have sat looking at a lion that won’t be moving for hours.
Wow! Amazing shot of the lioness jumping over the river.
Hi Nick – We we’re lucky to see the lioness contact calling for the pride one morning with Greg and Equalizer. Do you know if the lone female ever found the pride again?
Hi Crystal, apologies for the delayed response. We have not seen the Styx pride for a while but it seems as though that lone female must have found the pride or moved off since we haven’t found her since then either.
Hi Nick, this post is a couple days old, but was wondering, of the six Styx members, and the members in the photos, it looks to me like only one of the two adult lionesses is with them and the rest are the sub-adults? Am hoping you could confirm or deny this? Thank you for any help!
Hi Michael, sorry about the delayed reply. From what I recall, there were two or three adult females and one sub-adult male without a mane with the rest being sub-adult females – hope this helps.
Great sighting Nick! You definitely got the “money shot”! Thanks for sharing all of them!