The Flipside
Upside Down and Wide-Eyed: A Moment with a Curious Cub
The lion cub’s eyes opened, staring directly at me — his world momentarily upside down.
Mid-afternoon in the African bush is a time when everything slows. The heat settles like a heavy blanket across the land, and silence wraps itself around even the liveliest of creatures. The sun, now high and unforgiving, forces life into stillness. For both predator and prey, the first victory of the day is simply shade. The second, if fortune favours, is a belly full of water or meat.
We were on our way back to camp, passing through a cluster of acacia trees, those timeless guardians of the savannah that so often gift moments of reprieve. As we neared their shadowy shelter, we stumbled upon what appeared, at first, to be stillness itself: a pride of lions sprawled across the shade in languid peace.
Some lay pressed into the cooling sand, others draped over roots or nestled in small pockets of bush. A few were stretched in long lines, their tawny bodies barely distinguishable from the dry grass beneath them. It was a dreamlike scene—both surreal and sweltering. We switched off the engine and sat quietly in the furnace of the afternoon, reluctant to disturb the hush.
Then, from beneath one low-hanging branch, movement.
A young lion cub, one of the older members of the group, rolled lazily onto his back. His body slack with the ease only lion cubs can display, he let his paws dangle above his chest, one occasionally twitching at an unseen fly. And then he saw me.
His eyes — wide, golden, calm — locked on mine. He didn't move. He didn’t need to. There was no sense of threat, no anxiety. Just observation. Curiosity. His upside-down gaze swept slowly across our vehicle, then paused again on me.
There was something oddly human about it — that look. As though he was mildly puzzled by the decision we had made to sit here in full sun while he lounged in deep, cooling shade. As if he was asking, "Why would you do that to yourself?"
I lifted my camera slowly and made a few silent frames, the shutter set to quiet. He blinked. I blinked. For several minutes, we simply stared at each other, locked in a curious exchange between species. Nothing dramatic happened. No growls, no yawns, no calls from deeper in the pride. Just a lazy afternoon, a patch of shade, and a lion cub giving his full attention to a stranger.
Eventually, his head tilted sideways. The energy of the moment faded, as the weight of the afternoon returned. His eyes began to close. The paw chasing the fly stilled. His breathing slowed. Another cub nearby was already fast asleep, facing away, curled into a sand-swept curve of golden fur.
Knowing our presence was no longer noticed — or cared about — we slowly reversed out of the shade and left them to their dreams, returning to camp with hearts full from one of those quiet bush encounters that asks for nothing, but offers everything.
Background on the Subject
Lions (Panthera leo) are among Africa’s most iconic species, and their behaviour has fascinated biologists and travellers alike for generations. What might seem like laziness is actually a carefully evolved survival strategy. In the sweltering heat of the African bush, lions can rest for up to 20 hours a day. Their thick coats and minimal sweat glands mean they overheat quickly, making movement during the day costly and inefficient.
They tend to become active at dusk and remain on the move through the cooler hours of night, when they do most of their hunting. During the day, shade becomes critical. They seek shelter under trees, in thickets, or nestled into gullies where the wind can pass over them.
The cubs in this particular sighting were part of a larger pride observed in a private reserve in Southern Africa (Thornybush, Kruger National Park). As in most prides, the cubs spent their days mimicking adult behaviours while learning the rhythms of life in the bush — and enjoying long naps in between.
Raw Africa Collection
Welcome to Africa - the wise, the restless, the life giving.
This soulful land of dreamers gives rise to the underbelly of a beautiful gentle beat that is only heard by those who listen for it. This photographic journey explores, profiles and captures what I hope is the heart and soul of Africa's true wilderness kingdom. From its deep bush to its dry savannah and desert, Africa remains a place where life is represented by timeless vistas that are distilled into moments to treasure.
This image was captured in late September 2024 in the Thornybush area of Kruger National Park.
Sony A1, FE 70-200mm GM OSS II, FL: 197mm, S: 1/800s, A: F5.0, ISO: 500
