The lions drink tonight

August 1, 2018 • 2:45 pm

This beautiful video of lions drinking in the wild was posted at The Laughing Squid, which includes some background:

Wildlife photographer Peter Haygarth staked himself out on the edge of a body of water at the Zimanga Private Game Reserve in South Africa for over 15 hours in order to see what would come his way. The wait was worth it and his resulting images capture the reflective serenity of thirsty lions taking a refreshing drink of water in the moonlight. Shot from only 13 feet away, Haygarth took care to make sure his presence would not interrupt or disturb the natural movements and interactions.

Look at the spots on the babies and young adults: the remnants of an ancestral pattern that disappears in adults.

h/t: Tom

24 thoughts on “The lions drink tonight”

  1. Beautiful.

    Also, you can clearly see that their tongues curve backward and just touch the surface of the water pulling water droplets up via surface tension rather than curving forward and scooping water up like a spoon.

    1. Your “counter” is laughable, and rests solely on your belief in a fictitious Christianity. As for evolution, you simply don’t understand it. Here’s the level of your comprehension:

      We strive to be clean, we strive to be good, why? Because we know that in our hearts, we will eventually answer for what we have done. The idea of evolution provides a sense of escape from judgement. Evolution is just another feel good idea. If evolution were correct, then why are there still animals on earth?

      That question doesn’t even make sense! Sorry pal, but you can’t face the facts because you’re blinded by your faith.

        2. It’s “you’re”, not “your” If you cannot show a command of second-grade English, why should I respect your (properly used here) opinion on a topic that is clearly beyond you?

    2. Your argument Seems to consist entirely of wishful thinking. You want humans to be special so you deny the facts that seem to say we are not special.

    4. ” If evolution were correct, then why are there still animals on earth?”

      My God, what a stupid primate question!

  4. He shot this from only 14 feet away? Could he protect himself or was he or just another naive animal worshipping nut? What if the lions were hungry, and crossed the pond and ate him?

    1. My guess is that he’s in a blind. I hear a lot of creaking like he is sitting on a wood bench.

  7. There’s a lot of noise in the video (camera clicks and beeps). Could the lions not hear all that? (And their whispering?) Regardless, the inky black of the night and surface of the pond contrasted nicely with the cats’ hide. Amazing.

    1. The female lion in particular spent about half her time looking directly at the camera so it seems very likely to me that the lions could indeed hear the activity in the blind.

      2. As well as all the noise, what about the lights? Despite Haygarth’s claims, that’s not moonlight, the shadows are all wrong.

        1. I don’t know Zimanga lodge but it is quite possibly the hide is by an artificially lit water hole. Many animals get used the light and come down and the tourists can watch them.
          When I lived in SA I went along to several call ups for lions and other predators (using the recorded call of prey in distress to bring in the predators to ID them/dart them for collars etc) – lions used to turn up in no time at all and having one peering through the window of the vehicle at you at eye level was quite the experience.

Comments are closed.