August 2011 - Cristina Berselli Nature Photography

Wild Sex Lions mating - M4897
(Panthera leo)
Masai Mara NR, Kenya - August 2011
4/500mm
[1]

Wild Sex: The first sighting of lions is often disappointing, because the animals are indifferent to amuse the shade, but after a while you will see interesting interactions, it is always worth the wait and watch.
And 'what happened to me: I had just started the first game drive of my stay in the Masai Mara Reserve and almost immediately I came across a pair of lions blocks intent to mate. Lions usually do not care about people, but at this delicate moment the male lion has clearly expressed its displeasure at being disturbed, although he immediately resumed doing what he was doing.
The lions have no specific mating season;  Rather,  the couple have mating periods, where females often refrain from hunting, to copulate  for 20 to 40 times a day with the males of the coalition. Mating takes less than a minute and is accompanied by roars and grunts.
Lions have an extraordinary mating ritual, male and female away from the herd, mate briefly but vehemently every 12-25 minutes for 3 days, then each returns to its place within the pack...
Gestation lasts between one hundred and one hundred twenty days and the female gives birth to a litter of 1 / 4 puppies, not necessarily all designed with the same father. The females of a herd, usually 5 or 6, synchronize their reproductive cycles, so as to cooperate in the breeding and early feeding of the young, which feed indiscriminately from any female.
The females remain in the herd of origin, while young males are driven from the dominant male when they reach sexual maturity.

If you want to see other shots about my safari in the Masai Mara Game Reserve ...  go here ...

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