Asiatic lion

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 1, 2013494 views3 comments

Here's wishing all a very happy and prosperous 2013!
Yes, this is a lioness. No, this is NOT Africa - this is India! Sasan Gir, in Gujarat State in Western India is home to the last remaining home to the highly endangered Asiatic Lion population, that once roamed across Europe to India. In fact, this is the lion that is mentioned in the Bible, not the African lion, which was probably discovered by Europeans much later. There isn't much to tell these two species apart, except for a loose belly fold of skin, and far less mane than in the African variety.
This particular lioness came out into the open and lay down in a dry stream bed and was soon joined by her cubs that settled down by her side to suckle. After some time, she expressed her disapproval by snarling and getting up, probably because the cubs' sharp teeth hurt her tender nipples.
Only about 450 of these lions exist in the wild, and all of them in just one national park; hence, the danger to their future. One outbreak of a deadly disease could wipe out the entire species.
Species: Asiatic lion
Location: Sasan Gir, Gujarat, India
Equip: Canon 1D Mlll, Canon 100-400 at 330mm
Specs: ISO 320, f8, 1/200s, beanbag on vehicle

Thank you for taking the time out to look, and for your comments/critiques.

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Peter Hudson on January 1, 2013 at 8:19 AM

Thank you for sharing this is an exciting image - these are truly special creatures aren't they? You did well to catch it with a fairly low shutter speed - I would have gone for a lower aperture also but the image doesn't quite pop because the eyes are not drawn to her face - I would be tempted to tweek using the Nik software package to take down the background and bring up her face

Registered on June 26, 2012, 2 Posts, 4 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 2, 2013 at 8:06 PM

Ajit, this is a surprising image, in that it does not reflect what we normally expect, in terms of a caring, tender mother. Instead, she looks like she is ready to hurt someone! This is particularly special as a capture of a rare, endangered subspecies. Congratulations on the experience and the well done capture.

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

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on January 4, 2013 at 7:13 AM

Great behavior shot, I agree that snarl is due to teeth of grown up cubs. It may benefit from the closure crop.
Jagdeep Rajput

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