Lions, Lions, and more Lions.

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Lions are amazing. I always thought they were pretty cool, but seeing them up close and personal, in real life (not caged in a zoo) took things to a whole other level. They are massive. Powerful. And absolutely beautiful. The way they walk and move, slow and deliberate, makes it easy to see how strong and powerful they are. There definitely is a majesty about them.

 How any one could be so close to these powerful felines and still want to kill them is beyond me. They're so incredible.

Sadly there is a huge poaching problem with these beautiful wild lions, and the population continues to dwindle. They are abused, drugged, and massacred for sport. Please be wary and find ways to protect these animals, or avoid any organization that would hurt or exploit them.

Apart from their power and size, in a lot of way the are just giant, lazy cats. They scratch trees and stretch, sleep a lot, and move lazily along. I could watch them all day long.  And to be honest, I really wanted to pet them and rub their bellies. They're giant cats!

According to my Ranger guide, lions are opportunists. They'll only attack if it's convenient and a sure thing. Also, apparently 9 out of 10 lion attacks (against humans) are not fatal. Still, I don't want to get in a position to fight with a lion.

On my particular trip, I didn't expect to see the lions as often as we did. I saw them most every day. Most mornings I woke up at 4am to the sound of lions roaring in the distance. It was the coolest thing ever! We came so close to them on almost every encounter, as well as an incident of them wandering into the campsite where we stayed. Once in a lifetime experience, and by far one of the coolest. I have about 800 pictures of lions, and I still can't bring myself to delete any of them. So many great memories.