Somebody will look for the tracks on every game drive, around every corner and under every bush. The water holes are scoured, old carcasses are analyzed and common resting spots, such as Marthly Pools, frequented. All this to no avail… the new Tsalala Pride lion cubs are well hidden and we are literally pleading with them to give us just a glimpse!
The funny thing is despite the shy presence of the new cubs and our respect of the lionesses boundaries, we still get to witness the extraordinarily cute original 4 Tsalala Pride cubs on a daily basis. Inevitably what begins in a search for the new cubs results in a spectacular sighting of these 4 youngsters playing rough tumble with their mother or simply just basking on a large granite boulder in the Manyelethi River’s morning sunlight.
It’s funny how the mind works when something brand new arrives – the latest release, the newest model or the shiniest toy – we are so quick to disregard what was originally giving us the most satisfaction in pursuit of what we perceive to be better and more unique. Often, the humbling lesson that we quickly learn in nature is that new is not always better, more satisfying or even easier – sometimes it is just better to stick with what is working well for the time being, in the knowledge that everything will take place in its own unhurried time…
Despite the excitement about finding and viewing these brand new Tsalala Pride lion cubs, the young four that we have been watching at Londolozi for the last few months are still just as beautiful and breathtaking as before and although we continue to search for the new cubs, we take just as much pleasure and excitement in spending time with the original ones.
Photographed by: John Holley
Written by: Rich Laburn
Rich Laburn is filmmaker, photographer and writer who is based at Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. Spending his time capturing scenes of the wild and communicating the beauty of the African bushveld, he runs the Londolozi Blog as a way to entertain and engage people wishing to visit these wild lands.
