A taste for love

Gallery: WildlifePosted March 11, 2010305 views9 comments

These two individuals were on a mating bout. With the practicing of Flehmen to check the female's reproductive status, comes some licking and even biting of the female's tail end as well. Unfortunately I did not get a satisfactory shot of the actual Flehmen grimace due to obstructions in this case, but sometimes you have to be happy with the opportunities you are given.

Khutse Game Reserve, Kalahari, Botswana

Camera Model Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Shutter Speed 1/250sec
Aperture Value f/5.6
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Focal Length 320.0 mm
Cropped some off the right to a 4:3 ratio

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on March 11, 2010 at 4:10 AM

Vincent:
Great image of lion mating behavior. Like the soft sunlight on the mane, forehead and right eye. I have witnessed tail biting and it elicited a rather vicious reaction from the female.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on March 11, 2010 at 6:53 AM

The male looks to be a tough one, really like the expression and the glance of the eye. Although nice behaviour captured here, I would have loved to see more form of the female, for this photo to look more appealing.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Jorne de Bruin on March 11, 2010 at 7:12 AM

A very good behavioural image Vincent. I really like the light on the male's face and the glance of his eye. Further I agree with Jagdeep that I would have liked to see a little more of the female, but you can't have it all all the time of course.

Registered on June 26, 2008, 178 Posts, 2136 Comments

Comment posted by Alessandra & Rocco on March 11, 2010 at 8:26 AM

Nice colors Vincent, and great detail

Registered on March 3, 2007, 122 Posts, 778 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on March 11, 2010 at 10:16 AM

I like just the small view of the female. In this image the male is centerstage. Love the light and the squinty eyes. Nice details. That mane is gorgeous too. I am sure she was convinced of it too.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on March 11, 2010 at 1:21 PM

This demonstrates the importance of great light in making a top shelf image. It looks like vegetation probably impeded more space on the right. I think you did very well dealing with the situation and your choice of zeroing in on tongue, eye and glowing mane works very well. I enjoy the fact that even though he is clearly busy with important business, the open eye appears to be directed at the photographer!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on March 11, 2010 at 6:41 PM

Another beauty image Vincent. I too like the soft lighting. Great detail in the face and mane.
Wonderful work.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Luca Mussato on March 12, 2010 at 4:54 PM

Vincent, you reported a lion behavior very well. my only nit is on the presence of that vegetal spot on the female ankle,while i'm not sure a wider view of the female could have given more importance at the 'act'. A picture should also tell a story and this tells about lions courtships. Ah on my monitor the white part of the nose appears a little bit bluish (more evident in the larger version.

Cheers, Luca

Registered on November 14, 2006, 118 Posts, 855 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on March 13, 2010 at 12:23 AM

Nice image, Vincent, but I would crop out the left half of the frame, and keep only the male's head and the female's behind. This would result in a square frame, but it would work for me.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments