Lions are common at the Masai Mara but seeing them in the wild is still one of the most amazing wildlife experiences. In 2000, we saw many lions but didn't get to observe much behavior. The combination the wildebeest migration, mating season and some cubs already being born allowed us to witness all sorts of interesting behavior. On the first day of safari, one day after landing in Nairobi, we saw a lioness with two 3 week old cubs. Our guide TJ said its not too common to see cubs this young since the lioness often hides them away. Here we can see she has kept them near their father so no other males can cause problems.

The cubs were full of energy and gave us numerous cute scenes with their mom.

Unlike their mom, the cubs were quite curious about our safari vehicle and would sneak some adorable looks from behind their powerful mother.

We never saw young cubs for the rest of the trip highlighting that this was a rare scene.

Mom was constantly showering them with affection.

The cubs were often playing with one another too.

If it weren't for the cubs, lions during daytime mostly rest. But as any parents can attest to, littleones mean no rest for the adults so we got to see active lions!

Clearly not a care in the world when your a cub of an apex predator.

As long as father is around the cubs are safe.

After observing them for about 10 minutes they moved off. You can tell this little fellow is quite confident. Many other vehicles went looking for them once they heard about what we saw but couldn't find them.

We also saw many other lions. This young male was being attacked by black flies. We were prepared to deal with mosquitos and other insects but did not have to deal with any on our entire trip. The temperature was also realy pleasant. We saw a lot more amazing lion behavior in the days to come: (click).

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