Birds do it, bees do it............................

..............even lions in the bush do it!

Coming across this full grown male lion was awesome.  Resting in the open grass, he was calling for his lady with a low, hoarse roar, not loud at all to the human ear but probably heard by a lioness in the area.

 

How magnificent these creatures are.  Walking proudly one gets a sense of their well-earned name of 'King of the Jungle' even though this bushveld landscape is not actually 'jungle'.  I like 'Lion King' better.

After the exciting sunset viewing of the crash of rhinos, see my previous post, Gordon received a radio call that the king and his lady were together on the dry river bed enjoying some evening delight!  Off we went at full throttle ready to take a peek as apparently lions are not shy!

As it was dark, Gordon held the light so we could see the lions and take photos - this is why the colors are intense.  We were close and they were not concerned at all.  Mating occurs every 20 minutes, lasting about 30 seconds, for three days!  During that time the pair do not leave the area or eat anything.

That look on his face, almost whimsical.

I love this shot where they are resting close together......love among the lions!!!

I decided to edit this post prior to publishing, removing the more explicit photos because several readers are sharing my pics with their young children or students.  I don't want the children to be upset by the lion's fierce expression in some of the photos taken during the mating ritual.  They are awesome photos though!

If you would like to know more about lions behaviour, interesting facts about these amazing cats are given in a great Wikipedia article here.