The Royal Family of Lionesses

In celebration of National Cat Day, let me introduce you to The Royal Family of Lionesses. In the foreground is the Queen. On the left in the background is the Queen Mother. The lovelies to the left of QM are the princesses. In the photo on the right, two of the princesses are having a precious moment together. The ladies are calm, beautiful, and very photogenic. And terrifying.

Moments before they settled into their poses, the felines sauntered by our vehicle. In fact, they surrounded us as they passed. I know they could have cared less that we were there - they only see a big blob that smells of diesel fuel, not something wonderfully delicious. Nevertheless, there are rules to follow during an encounter with a dangerous animal. Move as slowly as a chameleon pretending not to exist, fight flailing your arms even if a spider is crawling on you or a wasp is circling your nose, whisper, don’t stretch outside of the frame of the vehicle to “get the shot,” and if you are me, keep your breathing to a minimum and only follow the predators with your eyes.

And if ever caught outside of the game vehicle, say to relieve oneself, and a lion strolls by (yes, this has happened), DON’T RUN.

I love watching lions in the bush. They are golden, muscular animals that show no mercy for their prey when on the hunt. Survival! The females in the pride do most of the hunting; they are protective nurturers of the cubs and vicious defenders of their territory. Like Katniss Everdeen or Ellen Ripley or real women of power like Harriet Tubman or Ruth Bader Ginsburg, they are symbols of female power.

Except when the males, who are dominant, demanding, and, yep, pretty dang lazy, show up. They come and go as they please, protecting the pride’s territory. Oh, they will assist in taking down dinner if the prey is big. But mostly, the ladies do the work and let the males eat their fill first.

I guess it’s a relationship that works. The females provide, and the males protect. Simple, right?

#writing #personalessays #nationalcatday #theroyalfamily #femalepower #mylastmonthsinsafrica #lionesses #respectwildlife #animalsreflectlife #watchoutforlions #ilovethebush

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