A telltale sign that a lioness has cubs is suckle marks on her underbelly. And this particular Kambula lioness had plenty of it. The rangers and guides at MalaMala all knew that she had cubs, and everyone was eager to see these tiny balls of fur!
On this particular morning, the guide found her all alone. She looked like she had a full belly and was walking with a lot of intent, but this time it wasn’t to hunt. She was focused on another mission even walking just meters from a herd of wildebeests, without looking their way.
As she continued, she let out low-frequency contact calls, and the group and guide knew that if they followed her, they were going to be in for a treat. She was heading from the open plains to a more thick, dense bush.
Scanning the direction, she was heading, it was extremely thick, and there was no movement to be seen. Mom picked up her pace, showing a look of nervousness on her face, perhaps due to the presence of another large game near where her babies were stashed. After waiting some time to see where Mom was heading, the group began to get nervous that maybe the cubs were very well hidden. And when mom eventually reaches them, it might be too thick to see them.
But just then, from the corner of the guide’s eye, he saw movement! It was a tiny lion cub, with tufts of hair on his ears barely visible in the long grass. One, then two, then three, and they just kept coming until a total of six tiny cubs came running and calling in the cutest manner, trying to respond to their mom!
The cubs looked like they were trying to say, “Here, mom, we are over here.” They ran as fast as their short, tiny legs could take them. Mom found a comfortable place next to the road in the open and sat patiently for them. They were so excited at this point that they were jumping and hoping with a bounce in their step!
As soon as they reached their Mom, they tackled her and jumped on top of her! They wanted milk; they were like little kittens, purring and wagging their tails. Each of the little cubs fell perfectly into place as soon as Mom turned on her side, and they began suckling. Not bothered by the group’s presence, mom and babies were having a moment of bonding and love.
