A wildlife guide found a lioness on her own looking for her cubs. They knew she had cubs because of the suckle marks on her underbelly. Rangers saw that she was looking for her cubs; she made low-frequency contact calls. She walked around with urgency without even looking at the herd of the wildebeest. She was on a mission to find her babies.
Both the lioness’s mom and the rangers grew anxious that she might be unable to find her cubs! Eventually, you see one tiny cub bobbing out from the thick grass. The cubs run to their mom, eager to get their much-needed milk. After giving the cubs a good, loving lick, she rolls over to let the cubs drink.
Slim Odds of Survival
The mother’s visible anxiety is not in vain. Mortality rates in cubs are between 50-80%. They usually have a 1 in 5 chance of survival. The leading causes of death are abandonment, violence by adult lions, predation, and starvation.
MalaMala Game Reserve
The video was taken in MalaMala game reserve. This game reserve is one of the largest private Big Five game reserves in South Africa. It shares an unfenced boundary to the famous Kruger National Park. This beautiful region aims to help conserve wildlife.
Conclusion
One really sympathizes with the lioness mother who is trying to find her cubs. You can see the emotional rollercoaster she goes through. Both the mother and cubs seem so happy to find one another. This once in a lifetime sighting is one which I’m sure will stay with the rangers for a very long time.
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