pgo wrote:
This was taken in the Selinda concession in the northern part of Botswana. We had gone out before dawn to track some Wild Dogs we had seen the night before, and whilst we found them, we also kept losing them as they were mobile through the bush. In search of them, we came around a corner and saw 3 lionesses across a spillway. We noticed that one was walking towards the water so we hurried to get to the transect in order to maybe get a shot of her drinking. As it was so early, there was not a breath of wind, and instead of drinking she decides to swim across directly at our vehicle, coming out just behind us and heading into the bush. Her two sisters followed a few minutes later. As if that was not amazing enough, as we sat there recovering, literally 2 minutes after the last lion entered the bush, a Wild Dog flashed by a few meters away chasing an Impala. If that had been 2 minutes earlier...
Taken with 1Ds MkII, 600 f4, Wimberley head and Manfrotto tripod
Per-Gunnar
Fantastic. There are prides that have adapted to water, very successfully in Botswana, and there is a documentary on exactly this behavior. I have observed many lions in South Africa and they show great dislike in any form of contact with water, even to the point of shaking it from their paws after stepping in a small puddle. I think her expression still has to do with her basic instinct of being a land mammal, but in the delta there is a bit of water around. Excellent wildlife shot.
